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PAST AND PRESENT
OF
CLINTON COUNTY
MICHIGAN
BY
JUDGE S. B. DABOLL
ASSISTED BY D. W. KELLEY
TOGETHER WITH
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF MANY OF ITS PROMINENT AND LEADING CITIZENS AND ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO:
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO.
1906
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H>e&icate& to tbe
pioneers
of Clinton County
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PREFACE.
THE publishers take pride in presenting this volume to the public. The historical part is
the work of Judge S. B. Daboll, assisted by D. W. Kelley. It was the intention of
Judge Daboll to write the entire volume, but personal matters required his attention
to such an extent that he was compelled to call to his assistance Mr. Kelley, and no
reader of the work but will declare it well done.
The biographical part of the work is the compilation of well qualified men, those
long experienced in the business. They have gone to the people, the men and women
who have, by their enterprise and industry, brought the county to a rank second to
none among those comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of
their life struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelligent
public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of
coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and
economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for securing
an education, have become learned men and women, with an influence extending throughout
the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of
life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in
every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records how success has usually
crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the
world, have pursued the "even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them, as Christ
said of the woman performing a deed of mercy — "They have done what they could." It
tells how many in the pride and strength of young manhood, left the plow and the anvil, the
lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's
call went forth valiantly "to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was
restored and peace once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every
woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after.
Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from
the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which
would otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work
and every opportunity possible given to those represented to insure correctness in what has
been written; and the publishers flatter themselves that they give to their readers a work with
few errors of consequence. In addition to biographical sketches, portraits of a number of
representative citizens are given.
The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume.
For this the publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work, some
refused to give the information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent.
Occasionally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such
opposition the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men never
could be found, though repeated calls were made at their residence or place of business.
January, 1906. THE 5. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
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Biographical.
PORTER K. PERRIN.
As the day with its morning of hope and
promise, its noontide of activity, its evening of
completed and successful effort ending in the
grateful rest and quiet of the night, so was the
life of Porter K. Perrin, of St. Johns. To him
there came the attainment of distinguished
honors and successes, but it was not his political
prominence nor his prosperity that gained him
the place which he occupied in the hearts of his
fellowmen, but a character in which the strong-
est and most commendable virtues were daily
practiced, a spirit of loving helpfulness and
kindliness, and a devotion to all that was true
and noble in all man's relations with his fellow-
men. He left behind him a name that will be
honored as long as memory remains to those
with whom he was associated in any relation.
A native of Vermont, Porter K. Perrin was
torn in the town of Berlin, September 13, 1833,
and his early common-school education was
supplemented by an academic course, subse-
quent to which time he entered the Law
University at Albany, New York, from which
he was graduated in the class of 1857. He was
admitted to practice in the courts of New York
and Albany and in the courts of Indianapolis,
Indiana, removing to the latter city in 1858.
He also resided for some time at Cincinnati,
Ohio, whence he came to Michigan in August,
i860. He was admitted to practice in the courts
of this state at St. Johns and in the United
States courts at Detroit. From September 13,
i86t, until July 17, 1863, ne was editor and
part owner of the Clinton Republican. Hearing
his country's call for aid, he sold the paper to its
former proprietor, H. S. Hilton, and putting
aside all business and personal interests, re-
sponded to the call, enlisting as a member of
Company I, Twenty-seventh Michigan Infantry
upon its organization. This was in 1863 and
he was commissioned first lieutenant on the
20th of December, with which rank he was
mustered in on the 30th of December, 1863.
On the 29th of February, 1864, ne was com-
missioned captain of the First Company of
Sharpshooters, being mustered in as such on
the ist of March, following, and on the 1st of
April, 1864, was commissioned major of the
Second Michigan Infantry, thus serving until
honorably discharged on account of disability
November 23, 1864. The same loyalty which
was manifested in all life's relations was dis-
played by him in his military service. As a
citizen he was ever public-spirited and had the
welfare and improvement of county, state and
nation at heart.
Following his discharge Mr. Perrin returned
to St. Johns and resumed the practice of law.
In the early days of his connection with the
Michigan bar he was known as a trial lawyer,
frequently appearing before court or jury, but
in later years he retired from active practice in
the courts to give his attention to other, but no
less important, departments of law work. In
1869 he was chosen probate judge of Clinton
county and filled the office for four years. He
was a wise counsellor, thoroughly versed in the
pinciples of jurisprudence. When death
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8
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
claimed him the members of the Clinton county
bar met to pay a last tribute of respect to his
memory and speaking on this occasion E. H.
Lyon said: "In the capacity of administrator,
in the handling of estates, and in acting as
guardian and as trustee for minors and mentally
incompetent persons and trustee of said estates,
I believe I am fairly entitled to say that in his
handling and care of such matters no one could
have done it better nor could have done it in a
fairer manner or in a more satisfactory man-
ner, and accomplished better results than the
deceased. I recollect that a little while ago in
a trial that was had in this court and in this
room before your honor in the matter of the
estate of Thomas B. McKee, a mentally in-
competent person, that the deceased was
brought into court as a witness in the case and
disclosed to the court, I believe, to the astonish-
ment and to the agreeable surprise both of the
court and the counsel on both sides that he took
that estate — and I speak of this merely because
it is an illustration of the kind of work that he
was doing — he took that estate when it consisted
of an old watch, an old horse, and a cart that
was broken down, and in a few years, with the
aid of a pension that the man was receiving, he
turned over to him an estate of upwards of two
thousand dollars and had procured for him a
good substantial livelihood covering the period ,
The one peculiarity about it that I recollect, and
I presume your Honor will recollect, was that
during that time the charge for his services in
looking after and caring- for the man's estate
was almost nominal, practically nominal. I only
speak of that as one illustration of what I be-
lieve every attorney at this bar knows has been
the frequent and constant habit of Mr. Perriu.
"During the years that any or all of us
have known him he has been rigidly economical,
just as careful of the expenditure and the
preservation of the property of others as he
would be with his own, and at the conclusion of
his practice it has been the almost invariable
practice that he has left the estate, the property,
the business in his hands in far better shape than
it was when he received it, and almost uni-
versally his acts and his actions in those re-
spects have been entirely satisfactory. His
model has been a good example. His conduct
toward other members of the bar has been
universally kind." On the same occasion John
G. Patterson speaking of Mr. Perrin said: "I
have known Mr. Perrin practically all my life
time and I think I can truthfully say that the
expressions that have been made in regard to
him can be vouched for by all. I think through-
out the county of Clinton that there isn't a man
I don't think there is a man in any profession,
in either the legal or any other profession that
is so commonly spoken of as being one of the
best and most honorable and truthful men of
this county. He has practically been, you might
say, throughout this county a man who enjoyed
the greatest degree of honor and respect, and it
has been the general feeling throughout the
entire community that when one sought counsel
from the Perrins their advice could be relied
upon. I have known him a long time, and I
can not refrain from saying that he has always
been one of the foremost men of this county,
and so far as our profession is concerned I be-
lieve he has always reflected credit upon it as
a standard of honesty, integrity and fair deal-
ing."
Not alone by reason of his able legal services
was Mr. Perrin widely and favorably known
for in other departments of activity his efforts
were equally honorable and beneficial. He was
United States commissioner for about six and
a half years and in 1877-8 represented his dis-
trict in the state senate. In fact in the early
history of Clinton county he was a prominent
figure in local politics, frequently taking the
stump in the interest of his party. As a public
speaker he was both temperate and logical, his
fairness and courteous treatment of an opponent
in debate winning him both friends and votes.
He was one of those who labored zealously for
the building of the present county courthouse in
1870, when an expenditure of forty-five
thousand dollars was looked upon as a large sum
of money by the residents of the outlying town-
ships. Realizing the great need of this public
improvement, he stumped the county at his own
expense and was rewarded for his labor by the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
9
necessary appropriation being made. As state
senator he was a conscientious member of the
upper house, using his influence at all times for
the public good. Legislation in the interests of
corporations, companies or individuals, if
drafted for the purpose of undue advantage or
private gain, he vigorously opposed. He coun-
selled against extravagant appropriation of
money for public officials. It was with pride
that he spoke of the passage of every bill of
which he was the author, becoming a law.
Extending his efforts to other business lines
Porter K. Perrin was for twelve years the presi-
dent of the State Bank of St. Johns and for
five years was president of the Durand Land
Company. To these interests he brought keen
discernment, sound judgment and an irreproach-
able business integrity which ever character-
ized him and the success of both corporations
was attributable in large measure to his efforts
and wise counsel. At a regular board meeting
of the directors of the State Bank of St. Johns
held under date of April 6, 1903, J. W. Fitz-
gerald offered the following resolutions upon
the death of Porter K. Perrin, which were
adopted : "Whereas, In the Providence of
Almighty God, our esteemed fellow citizen and
president of the State Bank of St. Johns, Porter
K. Perrin has been called from this life to life
eternal, the board of directors of this bank in
common with the grief stricken family, surviv-
ing relatives and friends and the community at
large, where he was so well and favorably
known and respected, mourn his loss. There-
fore be it resolved that in the death of Porter
K. Perrin, the wife has lost a devoted husband,
the family a tender and indulgent father, the
community an honest, upright citizen and this
board an intelligent and capable official, genial
and pleasant as a presiding officer, always
modest and courteous among those with whom
he was associated in this body, wearing all
honors that came to him as the bank's president
with becoming grace, he won our admiration
and commanded our respect by the fairness and
justness with which he presided over our de-
liberations, taking greater pleasure in bestowing
praise upon others if merited than wishing even
the faintest allusion of a compliment for himself.
Conservative and methodical in all things,
charitable toward associates for all errors and
missteps, he never forgot that to err is hu-
man, while forgiveness is a divine attribute —
a beacon light from God to man. As a financier
his heart and brain was in his work and the
State Bank of St. Johns, of which he was presi-
dent for so many years, was his watchful solici-
tude and pride. Gone in the fullness of his
manhood, in the strength of his usefulness, in
the day of his best judgment and ripest thought,
his dearest solicitude the family he loved, ac-
knowledging always his fellowman his friend,
he lived in the sunlight of God a clean, upright,
honorable life without blemish or stain. As an
evidence of his kindly feeling toward the mem-
bers of this board but a few hours before the
death summons came, just as he was nearing
life's close, but a step from the home and loved
ones on this side into the great unknown be-
yond, he signified a wish that his earthly re-
mains be borne to their final resting place by
his old associates in the bank. A good man has
gone from among us. Let us cherish his mem-
ory and endeavor to profit by the lessons he
taught us while living — patience, forbearance,
fortitude and faith.
"Resolved, that these resolutions be spread
upon the record book of the bank, and that a
copy suitably engrossed be forwarded to the
family."
While Porter K. Perrin won honors in politi-
cal life, success in business and esteem at all
times and under all relations, his best traits of
character were reserved for his family. He was
pre-eminently a man of domestic tastes and the
relations of his home life were largely ideal.
On the 2d of August, 1866, he was united in
marriage, in Olivet, Michigan, to Miss Ella M.
Sessions, a daughter of the Rev. Samuel Ses-
sions, at that time a resident of Olivet. Five
children were born unto them, three of whom
reached adult age : Archer Merle Perrin, the
eldest, now of Detroit; Inez C. Perrin, who was
married April 30, 1902, to Lieutenant Willis
B. Day, of the United States Navy; and Vive
Bird Perrin, of Detroit. In 1895 he took up his
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IO
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
residence in Detroit but maintained his business
connections with St. Johns. He died in the
former city on the 20th of March, 1903, at the
age of sixty-nine years, and his remains were
interred in the cemetery at St. Johns, where the
funeral services were held.
In a review of the life record of Mr. Perrin
it is noticeable that there are many elements of
his life that stand forth as distinguishing char-
acteristics— those which constitute the real char-
acter of the man. In the history of one who has
been an active factor in general affairs we are
apt to consider most his business career. Judged
in this light Mr. Perrin was a success, advanc-
ing from comparative obscurity to an eminent
place as a lawyer, legislator and financier, but
he regarded business not as an ultimate object
but merely as a means to an end — the avenue
which "enabled him to do service to his fellow-
men. Incident after incident could be cited of
his unselfish purpose and helpful spirit in his
business life, and at all times he manifested due
and conscientious regard for his obligations to
those with whom he was brought in contact. In
the church he was a helpful factor and in his life
exemplified the true Christian spirit. He stood
firm in support of whatever he believed to be
right and he had a deep and abiding charity for
others and was ever willing to extend a helping
hand to those who needed moral assistance or
material aid. The people who knewT him enter-
tained for him the warmest respect. There were
possibly mistakes in his life — for what life is
free from such — but they were matters of judg-
ment rather than of the heart. He used his
talents wrisely and wrell and it may be said of
him as it was of another
"His life was gentle, and the elements
So mixed in him, that nature might stand up
And say to all the world, this was a man."
HENRY MARTYN PERRIN.
Henry Martyn Perrin, valuing his own self-
respect and the merited esteem of his fellow
men more than wealth, fame or position, shaped
his course in harmony writh the principles which
govern the good and therefore truly great man
and as the years passed in a conscientious at-
tempt to do right by his fellowmen under all
circumstances he also found that the words of
the teacher of old were words of truth : "Seek
first the kingxlom of heaven and its righteous-
ness and all these things shall be added unto
you," for as the years passed honors came to
him and also a fair share of riches and there was
no man held in higher regard in St. Johns nor
Clinton county than Henry Martyn Perrin.
He was a native of Berlin, Vermont, born on
the 23d of June, 1829, a son of Porter and
Lucy (Kinney) Perrin. His paternal grand-
father, after having sold his farm in Connecti-
cut, removed to Vermont about one hundred
and sixteen years ago. He took his pay for the
farm in tea, for money and banks were very
uncertain at that time and with that product he
went to Berlin, where he traded his tea for
seven hundred acres of land, of which he re-
tained possession until his children were settled
all around him upon farms which were once a
part of the original tract. When he wrent to
Vermont the country was wild and unimproved.
Porter Perrin was the first white boy born in
the home township and one of his sisters was
the mother of Admiral Dewey. The Kinney
family was also established in Plainfield town-
ship at a very early day — now more than a cen-
tury ago.
Henry M. Perrin was reared at the old home
in the Green Mountain state. He learned his
letters when three years of age, thus early
manifesting that ability to readily acquire
knowledge, which was one of his strong and
salient characteristics through his entire life.
In his youth he was full of fun and in his early
school days was usually at the foot of the class
but he possessed a strong will and one day
formed the determination to stand at the head
of the class. Thus calling forth his latent pow-
ers and energies he soon made his way to a fore-
most position in the school and always main-
tained that place. He was not only noted for
his scholastic ability but also for his honesty.
On one day, being importuned to do something
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
13
which he regarded as not strictly honorable he
replied that he would do nothing of the kind,
whereon a fellow schoolmate said, "Henry is
always so durned honest, we never can do any-
thing." Again was manifested what was ever
one of his strong traits of character. Having
mastered the elementary branches of learning
he continued his studies in Thetford Academy,
from which he was graduated about 1850 and
during that time completed the first year's work
of a college course, so that when he entered
Dartmouth College he became a sophomore.
Having completed his collegiate course he next
entered the Albany Law College, from which
he was in due course of time graduated but he
left that institution with impaired health.
Thinking to be benefited by a change of climate
he went to Terre Haute, Indiana, where he was
admitted to the bar, but his health remained
poor nor did he like the state and these reasons
led him to come to Michigan. He remained in
or near Detroit until 1857 ancl then took up his
abode in St. Johns, declaring upon his arrival,
"Here I am going to live and die," and this he
did, spending his remaining days in Clinton
county. He entered at once upon the active
practice of his profession and his career at the
bar has become a part of the history of the
courts of Clinton county and of Michigan. He
was an able lawyer with profound knowledge
of legal principles and was always correct in
his application to the points in litigation. He
never would take the side of a criminal if he
knew him to be such. He had teen a resident
of the county for only a few years when he
was chosen and served as probate judge and
later he was elected to the state senate, enter-
ing upon the duties of that office on the 1st
of January, 1865. Jn politics he was a re-
publican somewhat independent in his views.
In keeping with the character of the man he
was always loyal to his honest convictions in
political as well as in other relations of life and
he was fearless in his championship of any
cause which he espoused. He was, however,
not aggressive but labored with a quiet per-
sistency of purpose that awakened the respect-
ful attention of others and often won converts
to his way of thinking. He held membership
in the Congregational church and in his college
days was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi
but otherwise was connected with no fraternal
organizations.
On the 1st of May, 1862, Mr. Perrin was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Ackley. They
had two daughters. Lucy Evalina, who was
born August 26, 1863, w^s married, October
26, 1887, to Dr. Henry Palmer and they have
one child, Ruth E. Palmer, born January 18,
1889. The second daughter, Ella Luella Per-
rin, was born August 7, 1866, and was killed
in a railroad wreck August 10, 1889.
Mr. Perrin passed away January 7, 1896,
and perhaps no better testimonial of the life
work and character of this worthy man can be
given than in inserting here the resolutions of
the bar and of the board of supervisors of which
he was a member at the time of his demise.
The former read as follows, "Resolved, that in
the departure of our brother we are reminded
of the uncertainty of life and the certainty of
death that cometh to us all. It may be in the
morning of our aspirations, hopes and antici-
pations, at noon day, or at evening tide at the
close of a long life. But, if we can, as we near
the portals of death, feel that our work, like
that of our departed brother, has been of that
character which has been dictated by truth,
justice and honor, we shall be enabled to leave
a name, as our brother has, that shall commend
the respect of all who had known us in life.
"In the death of our brother we feel that the
bar has lost a congenial, kind, social, true and
an honorable member, whose upright character
and firm adherence to what he considered to
be the right is worthy of imitation.
"That this community, in the death of our
brother has lost a good, useful, liberal and pub-
lic-spirited man; that his life in our midst has
manifested that he possessed that sterling char-
acter worthy of his New England ancestry.
"We tender to the family of the deceased in
their deep grief and great sorrow for the loss
of a most faithful and loving husband, and an
ever kind and indulgent parent, our sincere
sympathy and condolence."
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
The resolutions of the board of supervisors
read, "Whereas, It has pleased Divine Provi-
dence to take from our midst the Hon. Henry
M. Perrin, a former member of the board of
supervisors of this county; therefore, we, the
members of the present board assembled at the
courthouse, at St. Johns, hereby express our
sorrow at the death of our distinguished fellow
citizen and extend our sympathy and con-
dolence to the bereaved family;
"Whereas, The deceased during his residence
in this county since 1857 has held many posi-
tions of trust, honor and responsibility and hav-
ing discharged the duties devolved upon him
with marked fidelity and strictest honesty, and
"Whereas, As Judge of Probate and guard-
ian of many infant wards, he was ever zealous
in protecting the rights of those under his
charge, defending them against imposition and
wrong;
"Whereas, As State Senator he legislated for
the interest of the people and not for any class.
As a lawyer he was honest, upright and above
reproach, always a safe counselor ;
"Whereas, During his long business career,
he was intrusted with millions of other peo-
ple's money and having conducted his business
relations with his clients with such scrupulous
care and exactness that he was never suspected
or charged with misappropriating a single
penny. As a man he was respected and beloved
by all who knew him, and in his death our
county suffers the loss of one of its best citi-
zens and the community in which he resided, an
irreparable loss. Now, therefore, be it
"Resolved, That the county clerk be and is
hereby instructed to cause the flag to be placed
at half mast upon the courthouse, there to re-
main until after the funeral of Mr. Perrin."
The funeral services for Mr. Perrin were
held in the Methodist church and were con-
ducted by the Rev. Dr. Butler, who said, "The
duty of the minister is not very far to seek, nor
is it very hard when he is called upon to speak
at such a last gathering as this.
"He need not be anxious lest his words of
sorrow at the loss shall be altogether too large
for the occasion, or his words of hope be quite
too confident to match the character which he
portrays. He will not see an ill concealed in-
credulity in the faces of those who look at
him, if he is betrayed by the largeness of his
own sense of loss into an expression of the
deepest sorrow that the last word has been
spoken, and the last hand clasp been given. He
will not need to search long to find something
good to say, or walk with care lest he may
stumble in ignorance on that which had best be
wholly and forever concealed.
"The central word which I shall speak, a
score of men have already spoken to me upon
the street, and this great company are already
anticipating in their silent hearts. 'A good
man is gone.' I can not tell you how many
times I have heard the words. Never, among
all the funerals at which I have been asked to
speak becoming words, have I heard more fre-
quently, or with more heart, that judgment ex-
pressed. And it has been with no measure of
doubt, that I have waited for this hour and no
anxietv, that I have turned to God's holy word
to find there the lesson which might be most
becoming to the hour.
"I find it written in large and easy terms by
one who knew all the joy, and all the honor,
and all the enterprise, which a busy life, a busy
city, a busy nation, or a busy world could give
to one. I find it written by one who had choice
of all the paths which will ever open to one,
given to him when he was a young man, and
who deliberately chose the right when he was
young, who pursued the right when he was ma-
tured, and who gives, toward the close of his
busy life, an opinion as to what is worth the
most, when one stands toward the end and
looks back to see what life enfolds, and what
are after all, its choicest gains, and this is what
he says, "A good name is rather to be chosen
than great riches, and loving favor rather than
silver and gold/' * * * When the issue
came, as come it frequently does to every man,
whether in large business or little business,
whether in the pulpit or on the farm, the store
or the street, when he must decide between the
dollar meanly gained and the good name for
which the dollar had to be paid, you know
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
IS
which he chose. When it was a little more
money in the hand, or a little more mercy in
the act, you know which he preferred. When
it was a little more to count and leave, or a lit-
tle more to be left in some poor man's home; a
finer carpet on his floor, or a carpet of some sort
on some poor widow's floor; when it was a
higher place, bought by a deed which could not
bear the light, or a clearer conscience, procured
by submission to God's unchanging law of
right, you know which he chose * * *I know
the skies under which this man's childhood be-
gan. I know the granite hills which stand as
the mountains around Jerusalem around his
boyhood home. I know the river beside which
his college life was passed and the great hills
on the one side of its valley and the granite on
the other side.
"I know the influences surrounding a pious
New England home of those days, I know the
stately hymns they used to sing, and the sturdy
beliefs inculcated by a father and a mother of
his boyhood day. The rock without was ex-
pression of the rock within ; the honest grandeur
of the hills, if it was allowed to do its work,
made grandeur in the soul. He was with ac-
cord in his beginnings. He was a straight,
honest product of the influences into which his
early life was cast, and ever since one night
about two years ago, when he met me at the
station and took me to his home and we learned
that each had opened his baby eyes on the same
skies and learned among our first the familiar
names of the green hills, I have said what you
have said, what I leave with you as my last
word, because it is the noblest word, "He was
a good man."
HON. E. V. CHASE.
Hon. E. V. Chase is one of the representa-
tive citizens of Clinton county, who for many
years was engaged in the practice of medicine
and for a long period has been engaged in the
drug business at Elsie. He has also figured
prominently in political circles and has repre-
sented his district in the state legislature.
More than a half century has passed since he
arrived in this state, for he took up his abode
in Michigan in 1851. Not long afterward he
became a pioneer physician of Clinton county,
arriving here in 1857.
Dr. Chase is a native of Ohio, his birth hav-
ing occurred in Trumbull county on the 16th
of September, 1833. His father, John S.
Chase, was born near Lake George, New York,
and was a son of the Rev. Chase, a minister
of the Baptist church. John S. Chase was
reared to manhood in the Empire state and
when a young man went to Ohio, where he was
married to Miss Cornelia Lenora Beach, who
was born and reared in Ohio. Mr. Chase was
a wheelwright by trade and followed that busi-
ness in early life. The year 185 1 witnessed his
arrival in Michigan, at which time he located
in Shiawassee county, securing a tract of land
in the town of Owosso. There he cleared and
improved a farm, which he afterward sold and
removed to Elsie, where he purchased a saw-
mill and engaged in the manufacture of lum-
ber, spending his last years here, his death oc-
curring about 1878. His wife survived him
for a number of years and passed away in
1905, at the ripe old age of ninety years.
Dr. Chase came to Michigan with his par-
ents when a young man of about eighteen years
and assisted in clearing up and developing the
home farm. Subsequently, however, he re-
turned to Ohio, where he studied medicine.
He pursued his first course of lectures at Mich-
igan University at Ann Arbor, but put aside his
text-books at the breaking out of the Civil war
and responded to the country's call for troops,
enlisting on the 10th of August, 1861, as a
member of Company D, First Michigan Cav-
alry. He was promoted from the ranks to
the position of second lieutenant and later
first lieutenant. He was then assigned to
Company F, but subsequently was transferred to
Company M. Going to the east he served with
the Army of the Potomac under General Cus-
ter and participated in a number of important
engagements and also in the grand review in
Washington, D. C. On the same day he was
ordered to Parkersburg, West Virginia, thence
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
to St. Louis, Missouri, and afterward to Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas. At the last named
place he received orders to cross the plains and
went west to Fort Bridger, where the troops
went into winter quarters. On the ioth of
.. March, 1866, he was mustered out there and
was honorably discharged, after which he re-
turned home, paying his own transportation,
for the government did not meet the expenses
of the journey, although he was more than two
thousand miles away from home on military
duty.
When he again reached Elsie Dr. Chase took
up the practice of medicine and secured an en-
viable business, his professional service being
in demand for miles around. He thus con-
tinued in close connection with the practice of
medicine and surgery until 1880, when he es-
tablished the drug business that he has now-
conducted for a quarter of a century. He has
a well equipped store and is one of the enter-
prising merchants of his town.
On the 30th of August, 1857, in Owosso,
Dr. Chase was married to Miss Emily J. Wil-
kinson, a native of Michigan, who was born
and reared in Owosso. There were two chil-
dren bv that union' but only one is living, Ma-
bel, the wife of B. N. Wooley, of Elsie. An-
other daughter, Ellen, reached womanhood,
gave her hand in marriage to Harvey Allen and
afterward died, leaving two sons, of whom E.
V. Allen grew to manhood, married and now
resides in California, while Ross A. Allen is
living in Idaho. Mrs. Wooley has two chil-
dren, Margaret and Helen.
Dr. Chase has been a lifelong republican
and an earnest worker in the party, his efforts
being effective in behalf of republican progress
and success. He was elected and served as su-
pervisor of Duplain township, has also been
township clerk, village clerk and president of
the village board. In 1876 he was elected to
represent Clinton county in the state legisla-
ture, where he served so acceptably that in
1878 he was re-elected. He proved one of the
active working members of that body, being
connected with much important constructive
legislation. He served on the committee on
public health and numerous other committees
and discharged his duties with honorable dis-
tinction. He has been a delegate to numerous
county and state conventions and no trust
reposed in him has ever been betrayed. Dr.
Chase is a member of the Masonic fraternity,
in which he has taken the Master degree. His
residence in this county covers almost half a
century and he is one of the few remaining
old settlers and Civil war veterans. He has
lived a useful and honorable life and merits the
confidence and esteem so uniformly accorded
him. His work has been in a large measure
beneficial to his fellowmen as well as to him-
self and whatever success he has achieved is
due entirely to his own labors, proving the
force and value of effective and earnest effort
in active affairs of life.
GALUSHA PENNELL.
Galusha Pennell, whose record in business
and official circles entitles him to representation
with the leading citizens of St. Johns and Clin-
ton county, was born in Ridgeway, Orleans
county, New York, January 6, 1845, his parents
being Orrin G. and Lorana (Davis) Pennell,
both of whom were natives of the Empire state,
the former having been born in Cortland county
and the latter in Chautauqua county. The pa-
ternal grandfather, Dr. Ezra Pennell, was a
physician of Ridgeway, New York, where he
practiced for many years. The father came to
Michigan in 1861, establishing his home near
Ann Arbor, where he secured a tract of land,
carrying on farming. Subsequently he sold
that property and removed to a farm near De-
witt, Clinton county, taking up his abode there
in 1868, and making his home thereon until
his death, which occurred in 1899, when he had
reached the advanced age of seventy-eight years.
He had been married in Orleans county, New
York, to Miss Lorana Davis, who passed away
in 1890, at the age of sixty-eight years. Mr.
Pennell was active in political circles, served as
supervisor of his township and also represented
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GALUSHA PENNELL.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
his district in the state senate. He was a man
of strong intellectuality and of keen discern-
ment, successful in his business affairs and
wielding a wide influence in public thought and
action. Moreover his course was ever actuated
by a devotion to the general good and his
service in office was therefore valuable. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Orrin G. Pennell were born three
sons: Galusha; Edward, who is living in Ionia,
Michigan; and Mark, who resides upon the
homestead farm near Dewitt.
Galusha Pennell, educated in the common
schools of Orleans county, further continued his
studies in the University of Michigan, where he
completed the literary course and was gradu-
ated with the class of 1868, He then returned
to the home farm, whereon he had been reared,
and devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits
until called to public office, being elected on the
democratic ticket to the office of sheriff of Clin-
ton county in 1874. He served in that position
for four years and his course was commended
by all law-abiding citizens. During that period
he accepted a cashiership in the First National
Bank of St. Johns, retaining the office for
twelve years, and he has since been financially
interested in the bank. From 1886 until 1890,
however, he was again in public office, filling
the position of United States marshal under
President Cleveland, with headquarters at De-
troit. Throughout this period, however, he re-
tained his interest in the bank and is now vice
president of the institution. This bank has a
splendid history, being justly regarded as a
solid, reliable financial concern, and Mr. Pen-
nell has contributed in no small degree to this
record. He also figured in banking circles on
the Pacific coast, having for two years been
cashier of the Lagrande National Bank, in La-
grande, Oregon, following his retirement from
office of United States marshal. He has made
a number of trips to the coast, being familiar
with the western country, its business possibili-
ties and its attractive scenic features.
In December, 1879, Mr. Pennell was united
in marriage to Miss Lydia Brinkerhoff, of De-
witt, a daughter of Dewitt and Juliette Brink-
erhoff. Mr. Pennell is one of the popular and
19
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prominent citizens of St. Johns and is regarded
as one of its most substantial representatives.
He is a man of large stature, of social temper-
ament, kindly manner and considerate disposi-
tion and the circle of his friends is constantly
increasing as the circle of his acquaintance is
extended. He is very prominent in Masonry,
having attained the thirty-second degree of the
Scottish Rite in the consistory of Detroit. He
is also a member of the Mystic Shrine and is
connected with all of the local Masonic bodies,
while for several terms he was eminent com-
mander of the Knight Templars in St. Johns.
SAMUEL CUSHMAN.
Samuel Cushman is one of the active business
men of Bath, where he is engaged in dealing
in grain and wool in connection with his son,
R. E. Cushman, under the firm style of Cush-
man & Son. He was born in Dewitt town-
ship, Clinton county, October 18, 1852. His
father, George Cushman, was a prominent agri-
culturist of this township, casting in his lot
with the early settlers of the county when it
presented a very different appearance from the
present day, being largely covered with the
native forests which sheltered various kinds of
wild game. Only here and there a clearing
had been made and a little cabin erected to
show that the work of civilization had been in-
stituted. In this county George Cushman was
married to Ellen Smith, a daughter of Samuel
B. Smith, likewise a pioneer resident of the
county, coming to Michigan from New York.
Samuel Cushman was reared upon his
father's farm and aided in the work of the
home place until twenty-six years of age. He
was then married in the city of Lansing in
August, 1879, to Miss Lizzie Everett, a native
of Michigan, who was born in Ypsilanti and
was reared and educated there. She is a gradu-
ate of the State Normal School and for several
years prior to her marriage capably and suc-
cessfully followed the profession of teaching.
The young couple began their domestic life on
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
a farm in Bath township, where they remained
for several years. Mr. . Cushman began there
with fifty-one acres of land and on selling that
property he removed to Bath, where he turned
his attention to the purchase and sale of grain
and wool. He has now been in active business
here for the past fifteen years and is one of the
most progressive business men of the town.
He has built a large new elevator and ware-
house at the Michigan Central tracks and there
conducts his business, his interests furnishing
an excellent market for the agriculturists and
sheep raisers of the locality.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cushman were born two
children, R. E, and Belle. The son, who is
now in partnership with his father, acquired his
early education in the schools of Bath and after-
ward attended the Jackson Commercial College,
of which he is a graduate of the class of 1902.
A young man of exemplary habits, of good
business ability and keen discernment, he is a
most capable assistant to his father. The daugh-
ter is engaged in teaching in this county.
A lifelong republican, Mr. Cushman has
never sought or desired office but was appointed
and served as deputy sheriff for a number of
years. Having spent his entire life in this
county, covering a period of fifty-two years, he
has witnessed much of its growth and develop-
ment and has rejoiced in what has been accom-
plished as the region has been reclaimed for the
purposes of civilization and has taken on all of
the improvements, conveniences and equipments
known to the older and more thickly settled east.
His business integrity and worth are matters
above question and he enjoys the unqualified
confidence and esteem of the community.
JOHN HICKS.
John Hicks, who at the time of his death
was the oldest merchant in the dry-goods busi-
ness in St. Johns and the president of the St.
Johns National Bank, belonged to that class of
representative American men who while pro-
moting individual success also advance the gen-
eral welfare. He contributed in large meas-
ure to the commercial prosperity, the upbuild-
ing and the progress of his adopted city, main-
taining throughout a course of action which
made his name an honored one. He was born
in Kingston, West Ontario, Canada, July 7,
1824. His father, Samuel Hicks, was a na-
tive of New Jersey, and the grandfather, John
Hicks, Sr., was an Englishman and sea cap-
tain who made voyages to the East Indies.
Eventually he located in New Jersey where his-
last days were passed.
Samuel Hicks, also a sailor, was for years a
captain on the Great Lakes and while thus,
engaged made his headquarters at Toronto.
For years he had a contract for carrying mail,
between that city and Kingston. He after-
ward made his home at St. Joseph, Michigan,
and was captain of a boat sailing between that
port and Chicago. He was engaged in the
war of 18 1 2 and during the McKenzie rebel-
lion he was implicated with the patriots and
found it necessary to leave Canada. At that
time he took up his abode in Detroit and it
was at a later day that he removed to St. Jo-
seph, Michigan. He married Eunice Bailey, a
native of Connecticut who belonged to an old
New England family. In an early period of
the settlement of western New York she re-
moved to Watertown, that state, with her
brother who became a prominent business man
there and it was in Watertown that she gave
her hand in marriage to Samuel Hicks.
Her last days were spent in St. Law-
rence county, New York. She reared
her four children in the faith of the
Presbyterian church, of which she was a de-
voted member. Her eldest son, Andrus, died"
in St. Lawrence county. Louisa became the
wife of O. L. Brooks, for many years a resi-
dent in Cleveland, Ohio. Marinda M. married
Ambrose Clow and resided in New Westmin-
ster, British Columbia, both of whom are now
deceased.
John Hicks spent his boyhood days in Canada
and supplemented the early education of the
district school by study in Whitney Academy.
His education completed, he began work first
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
21
on a farm and later became a clerk in a store.
In the fall of 1849 ne traveled by stage to
Toronto, thence by boat to Queenstown and
Chippewa and after visiting Buffalo he went
to Detroit. Finally he located in Dewitt, Clin-
ton county, Michigan, where his uncle, the
Hon. David Sturgis, was conducting a general
store and also a grist and saw mill and was at
that time the most prominent man in the
county. For a year Mr. Hicks acted as book-
keeper for his uncle and then having demon-
strated his ability and ambition he was admit-
ted to a partnership and with his uncle pur-
chased a stock of goods, establishing a general
mercantile store. After about three years Mr.
Hicks purchased his uncle's interest and Mr.
Sturgis then came to St. Johns,, while Mr.
Hicks continued the business at Dewitt. Such
was the pioneer condition at the time that it
required a week to haul goods by team from
Detroit and he was obliged to carry on busi-
ness on what was rather a barter system, ac-
cepting everything imaginable in exchange for
his merchandise. In the fall of 1856 he dis-
posed of his store in Dewitt and came to St.
Johns, where he made his home continuously
until his death. Here he resumed partnership
with his uncle and two years later he again
bought out Mr. Sturgis' interest, continuing
alone in his general mercantile venture. As
the years advanced his business grew in vol-
ume and importance with the growth and de-
velopment of the county and in later years he
conducted an extensive and profitable mercan-
tile enterprise as a dealer in dry goods, car-
pets and cloaks, occupying two floors of an ex-
tensive store now owned and controlled by
his son, John C. Hicks. In addition to his in-
terests in St. Johns Mr. Hicks of this review
for many years also managed two stores in
Gratiot county, one at Bridgeville and one at
Pompeii.
A man of resourceful business ability, read-
ily recognizing an opportunity and utilizing the
same for purposes of business advancement,
Mr. Hicks in the year 1858 began buying grain
in St. Johns, shipping in bags and barrels the
first grain that went from this port. In i860
he built a warehouse in order that he might
more extensively carry on his operations and
was connected with the grain trade up to the
time of his death, being the oldest grain mer-
chant as well as dry-goods merchant in the
county. In his business he kept pace with the
progress of the times, introducing all modern
improvements in his elevator and having the
largest plant for clearing his wheat and ship-
ping grain of any man in St. Johns. He like-
wise engaged in buying wool and found a
profitable field of labor through his operations
in land and lumber. In the early days he
bought staves in the Detroit market which he
shipped to Europe. Mr. Hicks owned and
operated a fine farm of one hundred and sixty
acres in Essex township and he had other ex-
tensive real-estate interests in Clinton, Gratiot
and Isabella counties of this state and in Flor-
ida, while in Nebraska he owned an extensive
ranch. His business operations also extended
to the building line and in this connection he
contributed in substantial measure to the ma-
terial improvement of his adopted city. He
was the chairman and the most efficient mem-
ber of the building committee that erected the
courthouse and jail at St. Johns and was also
on the building committee for the construction
of the schoolhouse. He erected a number of
brick buildings here and in connection with R.
M. Steel built the three-story brick block which
is known by their name. These gentlemen like-
wise engaged in the manufacture of brick, con-
ducting a yard at St. Johns for many years.
Active in other industrial lines Mr. Hicks was
for several years proprietor and manager of St.
Johns foundry and agricultural works. He
came to Clinton county with a capital of only
one thousand dollars and by strict integrity,
the exercise of good judgment and unfaltering
perseverance in carrying out his well laid plans
he made a success of everything which he un-
dertook. His name became an honored one in
banking circles, for he was one of the organ-
izers of the St. Johns National Bank in which
he instituted a safe conservative policy that
made it one of the most reliable financial con-
cerns of this portion of the state. He acted as
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
president from its organization until his death
and was one of its largest stockholders. He
was also one of the organizers and a director
of the Savings Bank.
In 1855 Mr. Hicks was united in marriage
to Miss Eliza Huston, a daughter of Mathew
Huston and a granddaughter of Thomas
Huston, both wealthy landowners of County
Antrim, Ireland. The family was established
in America in 18 18, when the representatives
of the name that crossed the Atlantic located
in Vermont. Later they went to Burlington,
Vermont, and Mathew Huston became the
owner of a flourishing shoe factory in Shel-
burne, Vermont. However, he met with re-
verses by signing papers for a friend and in
order to retrieve his lost possessions he came
to Michigan in 1848, finally settling in Gratiot
county, where he died in 1856. He was a
man highly respected by all who knew him and
one whose business honor and integrity were
above questions. He married Arabelle Pierce,
a native of Vermont and a daughter of Luther
Pierce, who was born in Connecticut. Mrs.
Huston spent her last days in St. Johns. In
her family were five children including Mrs.
Hicks, who was born in Shelburne, Vermont,
October 13, 1833, and after attending the com-
mon schools received her higher education in
the Ladies' Seminary at Hinesburgh. Mr. and
Mrs. Hicks became the parents of a son and
two daughters: Ida E., who married William
C. B. Rawson, of Mount Dora, Florida; John
G, who is president of the St. Johns National
Bank and a merchant of this city; and Jennie
M., who became the wife of Coleman G
Vaughan, of St. Johns, Michigan, and died
March 7, 1895.
While controlling important and constantly
enlarging business interests Mr. Hicks yet
found time for the duties of public life and tak-
ing an active interest in political questions he
wras chairman of the democratic county cen-
tral committee. He served on the village
board for a number of years and took a helpful
part in many measures that contributed to the
material, intellectual, political and moral wel-
fare of the city. He was active in organiz-
ing the First Methodist Episcopal church of
St. Johns, was chairman of its board and one
of its trustees. A man's success is not deter-
mined by the heights which he has reached
but by the depths from which he has climbed
and taking cognizance of the fact that Mr.
Hicks started out as a farm hand his career is
one that is indeed worthy of emulation, for he
became one of the most wealthy men of the
county. Moreover he was public spirited to
an eminent degree and his name was at all
times an honored one, while his life record
would bear the closest investigation and scru-
tiny. His name is inseparably associated with
the history of St. Johns as almost all lines of
activity here felt the stimulus of his influence
and co-operation. He passed away April 2,
1903. As the day with its morning of hope
and promise, its noontide of activity, its even-
ing of successful and accomplished effort end-
ing in the grateful rest and quiet of the night,
so was the life of John Hicks.
J. W. FITZGERALD.
J. W. Fitzgerald, cashier of the State Bank
of St. Johns since 1892 and the present mayor
of the city, is well knowTn in financial and polit-
ical circles in Clinton county and this section
of Michigan. He was born in Rochester, New
York, in 1845, and when a lad of eight years
was brought to Michigan by his parents, Mr.
and Mrs. M. Fitzgerald. His youth was
largely devoted to the acquirement of an edu-
cation in the public schools and he was a mem-
ber of the Third Michigan Cavalry during the
Civil war. He had not yet attained his ma-
jority when he offered his services to the gov-
ernment, but he proved a loyal soldier upon the
battle-fields of the south.
When the country no longer needed his
services Mr. Fitzgerald, returning to Michigan,
entered the field of journalism, becoming the
publisher of the Ovid Register, of which he was
editor and owner for two and a half years.
In 1872 he established the Chesaning Times,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
25
but disposed of that paper two years later in
order to enter the United States mail service, in
which he remained for seven years. On the
expiration of that period he once more entered
the journalistic field, forming a partnership with
James S. DeLand in the establishment and
publication of the Jackson Evening Times at
Jackson, Michigan, but in 1879 he again took
up his abode in Ovid, where he founded the
Clinton and Shiawassee Union. He then de-
voted his undivided attention to the interests of
his paper until 1886. Mr. Fitzgerald, always
interested in political questions and very well
informed upon the issues of the day, had become
recognized as a leader in local ranks of the re-
publican party and in 1886 he received the party
nomination for the office of register of deeds
of Clinton county, to which he was elected for
a two years' term, and was later re-elected,
serving in all four years. He proved a capable
incumbent, retiring from the position as he had
entered it, with the confidence and good will of
all of his constituents. He has also been a
member of the local school board for nine years.
His interest in political questions has never
abated and he is now efficiently serving as
mayor of St. Johns.
Since his retirement from office as register of
deeds Mr. Fitzgerald has been actively con-
nected with banking interests and since 189 1
has continuously been the cashier of the State
Bank of St. Johns, which is capitalized for fifty
thousand dollars, with a surplus of over ten
thousand two hundred dollars and undivided
profits of seven thousand five hundred dollars.
O. W. Munger is now occupying the presidency,
while for thirteen years Mr. Fitzgerald has been
cashier. The institution conducts a general
banking business and every accommodation is
extended to its patrons consistent with safe
banking. Manifesting in early life a strong
purpose, as shown by his military service, Mr.
Fitzgerald has ever been known as a man of
firm determination, adhering closely to a course
which he believes to be right or to a definite
plan of action in the business world and in this
manner he has ever enjoyed and received the
confidence and trust of his fellowmen. He was
the first president of the Business Men's Asso-
ciation of St. John.
On the 7th of October, 1868, Mr. Fitz-
gerald was united in marriage to Miss Ger-
trude Yerkes, of Northville, Michigan, and to
them were born four children, namely : Howard
H., now editor and proprietor of the Daily Flint
Journal; Harry Y. and Roy C, who are located
at Los Angeles, California, and are reporters
on the Los Angeles Daily Times; and Maude
L, the eldest of the family, who is now the wife
of Charles P. Baker, of the firm of Travis &
Baker, druggists of St. Johns. The mother of
these children died June 9, 1898, and in August,
1900, Mr. Fitzgerald married Mrs. Lena Mar-
tin, of St. Johns.
LEVI W. BALDWIN.
The history of a county as well as that of a
state or nation is chiefly the chronicle of the
lives and the deeds of men who< have been
promoters of business activity and have upheld
the political and legal status of his community.
The world judges the character of a locality
by that of its representatives because of the
genius, learning or virtues of those whose ac-
tions constitute the record of the county. Mr.
Baldwin, as one of the representative men of
St. Johns, has carved out a business career that
reflects credit upon the community in which he
lives and he is therefore justly entitled to men-
tion in this volume.
Be was born in Jamestown, New York,
March 29, 1836, and represents an old family
of Connecticut, his father, William Baldwin,
had three brothers living in different states.
The grandfather, Benjamin Baldwin, became a
resident of the Empire state and died in May-
ville, New York, at the advanced age of ninety
years. William Baldwin was born in Catskill,
New York, and having arrived at years of ma-
turity was married to Jane Ann Dutcher, a
native of Granville, New York. For many
years after their marriage they lived in the
Empire state and in 1865 came to Michigan,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
settling in the township of Bengal, Clinton
county. There he purchased a farm but he
was a carpenter and joiner by trade and soon
afterward settled in St. Johns, where he fol-
lowed building operations. There his wife
died and he passed away at the ripe old age
of eighty-six years.
Levi W. Baldwin was educated in the dis-
trict union schools in Niagara county, New
York, and in the village of Olcott, New York.
In his youth he learned the carpenter's trade
and went to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he
followed that pursuit, while later he carried on
building operations in New York and Peoria,
Illinois. Coming to Clinton county, Michigan,
he bought eighty acres of land in Bengal town-
ship in 1865 and at once began improving this
place, of which twenty acres had already been
cleared. After a year, however, he went to St.
Johns, and in 1867 he purchased land in Dallas
township, after selling his other farm of eighty
acres. He was then engaged in general agri-
cultural pursuits until the 1st of January,
1874, when he bought a stock of hardware
from J. F. Shraft, at Fowler, continuing the
same at the original place for two years, dur-
ing which time he also acted as express agent.
On the 20th of October, 1877, he formed a
partnership with J. F. Gary under the firm
name of Baldwin & Gary, and they built the
present store of Mr. Baldwin, who later pur-
chased his partner's interest in the building.
He has since conducted the business and a lib-
eral patronage is accorded him.
In the fall of i860 Mr. Baldwin was united
in marriage to Miss Melvina M. Brown, a
daughter of James Brown, and they have now
three living children : Etta, the wife of Dr.
John F. McPheron, of Detroit ; George T. and
Jesse E., both of Fowler. They also lost three
children : Frank, who died at the age of eigh-
teen years; Herbert; and one, who died in in-
fancy.
Politically Mr. Baldwin is a democrat and
has served as county treasurer, while in 1870
he was elected supervisor of his township, con-
tinuously filling that position until 1890. In
that year he was chosen to represent his dis-
trict in the state legislature, where he served
for one term and after his retirement from that
office he was re-elected supervisor, in which ca-
pacity he served for five years. From 1875
until 1890 he was notary public. In the dis-
charge of his political duties he manifests the
same spirit of enterprise and devotion to de-
tail that* mark the conduct of his private busi-
ness interests and have been salient features
in his success. He has been a member of the
Ancient Order of United Workmen at Fowler
since the organization of the lodge in 1878, this
being the nineteenth lodge established in this
state. Mr. Baldwin is a self-made man, ow-
ing his advancement to his own labors. There
are no rules for the building of character and
no rule for achieving success, and a man who
can rise from the ranks to a leading position
is he who can see and utilize the opportunities
that surround his path.
PETER H. BANTA, M. D.
Dr. Peter H. Banta, engaged in the practice
of medicine and surgery at Westphalia, is a
native of Oxford, Oakland county, Michigan,
born August 19, 1874, and is a son of Pendle-
ton and Carrie (Travis) Banta, the former a
native of New York city, and the latter of
Oxford, Michigan. The Banta family comes
of Scotch and German ancestry, while the
Travis family is of English and German ex-
traction. Pendleton Banta removed from New
York to Michigan in i860, settling on a farm
near Oxford and the last twenty years of his
life has been passed in Lebanon township, Clin-
ton county, where he died in 1903, at the age
of fifty-two years. His widow is still living on
the old home farm near Hubbardston, in
Lebanon township, the place being about two
and a half miles east of the village. Mr.
Banta was an enthusiastic supporter of the
prohibition party and in his home locality was
called to the office of justice of the peace. He
was a member of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Knights of the Maccabees,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
27
and was regarded as one of the most enter-
prising agriculturists of Clinton county. He
was a well educated man and because of his
ability was frequently called upon to draw up
wills and deeds, which he could execute in an
able manner because of his fine penmanship
and legal knowledge. He was a man of un-
faltering diligence and his activity proved not
only a source of his own success but also made
him a valued and representative citizen of Clin-
ton county. In the family were seven children :
Andrew, who is living on the home farm; Peter
H.; Carrie, the wife of Henry Heilner, of
Howard City, Michigan; Mabel, the wife of
Parshal Adams, mail clerk on the Grand Trunk
Railroad and a resident of Detroit; James, who
is living in South Dakota; Lois, at home; and
Martin, of Detroit.
Dr. Banta, whose name introduces this re-
view, attended the common and high schools at
Hubbardston and prepared for his profession by
a four years' course of study in the Detroit Col-
lege of Medicine, which he entered in 1895.
When war with Spain was inaugurated he went
to Florida with the Thirty-second Regiment of
Michigan Volunteers, and on the 4th of July
was transferred to the regular army. He was
engaged in hospital duty in Florida and was
mustered out of service there on the 29th of
January, 1899, after which he returned to col-
lege and was graduated with the class of May,
1900.
The same month Dr. Banta located for prac-
tice in Westphalia and opened an office. After
two and a half years he removed to Mancelona,
Michigan, where he remained for two years and
returned to Westphalia in July, 1904. He has
since practiced here with good success, being
accorded a large patronage by his fellow towns-
men who recognize his capability in the line of
his chosen profession.
On the 19th of September, 1900, Dr. Banta
was married to Miss Fannie L. Bray ton, a
daughter of Byron and Emogene (Musel)
Brayton, of North Plains, Ionia county, Michi-
gan. Dr. and Mrs. Banta have one daughter,
Evangeline Lucile. Dr. Banta has been a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity since 1897, be-
longing to Fuscan lodge, No. 178, A. F. & A.
M. He is likewise connected with the Elks
lodge, No. 548, at Ionia, Michigan, with the
Woodmen of the World, the Gold Reserve of
Mount Pleasant and the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and in his professional service has
ample opportunity to exemplify the beneficent
spirit of these different fraternal organizations.
He is a well equipped young practitioner who
has already attained a position of prominence
and through experience and study he is con-
tinually broadening his knowledge and promot-
ing his efficiency.
BENTON SPRAGUE.
Benton Sprague, living on section 2j, Vic-
tor township, is numbered among the pioneer
settlers who are familiar with the history of
the county from the period of its earliest de-
velopment down to the present time. His birth
occurred in the town of Covington, Genesee
county, New York, March 19, 1838. His fa-
ther, Erastus Sprague, was a native of Massa-
chusetts, born in 1806, and was a son of Cap-
tain James Sprague, a native of the old Bay
state. The Sprague family is of English lin-
eage and was established in New England in
the early period of the colonization of the coun-
try. Captain James Sprague and his family re-
moved from Massachusetts to Genesee county,
New York, where Erastus Sprague was reared
and married, the lady of his choice being Miss
Sarah Sanderson, a native of that state. Mr.
Sprague became a farmer of Genesee county
and in 1852 removed to the west, taking up
his abode in Victor township, Clinton county,
Michigan. Few were the settlers within its
borders and the work of improvement and
progress seemed scarcely begun. He at first
entered land from the government and began
the development of a farm, while later he pur-
chased other tracts and eventually became the
owner of five hundred and twenty acres of land.
He cleared a forty-acre tract where his son now
resides and upon the place there was an old
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
double log house which was a wayside inn or
tavern on the stage road. Mr. Sprague died
in this county in 1855 and was for a few years
survived by his wife. In their family were
two sons including Henry Sprague, who is a
farmer and resides near Grand Island, Ne-
braska.
Benton Sprague, the other son, was a lad of
fourteen years when he came with his parents
to Clinton county and he assisted in clearing
and developing the home farm, becoming fa-
miliar with all the arduous labor incident to
such work. He drove a breaking team of eight
yoke of oxen, sowed the seed in many a fur-
row and in due course of time harvested good
crops. He and his brother became purchasers
of the old homestead property and were part-
ners for twenty years, at the end of which time
they divided their real estate. Benton Sprague
now owns the old home place of one hundred
and twenty acres, on which are fine modern im-
provements and all the accessories needed to
facilitate farm work according to modern
ideas. His home is a pleasant residence and
there is a good barn, a granary and other build-
ings for the shelter of grain and stock. Mr.
Sprague also planted an orchard and now has
a well fenced and neat farm property.
He was first married in Dewitt township to
Miss Jane Throppe, a native of Canada. She
was an invalid for years and died in this county
in 1897. There were four children born of
that union but only one is now living, Ada, the
wife of Bert Rohrbacher, a prominent farmer
of Victor township. Mr. Sprague was again
married in St. Johns in 1898, his second un-
ion being with Mrs. Lovina Francis, a widow,
who by her former marriage had one son,
Howard Francis, who has been with Mr.
Sprague from his early youth and for some
years has assisted him in carrying on the farm.
The present Mrs. Sprague cared for and
nursed the first wife and after her death she
gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Sprague.
Politically Mr. Sprague is a stanch repub-
lican, giving unfaltering support to the men and
measures of the party. His time and atten-
tion, however, have not been divided by the at-
tractions of office holding but are given to his
farm work and his place of one hundred and
twenty acres is a valuable and desirable prop-
erty. He has resided in this county for fifty-
three years and is therefore numbered among
its leading settlers. He has seen the forests
cut, has aided in clearing and breaking the land
and has been the champion of many progres-
sive measures. Great transformation has been
wrought until the county to-day bears little
resemblance to the district to which he entered
as a pioneer in his boyhood.
HENRY A. POTTER.
Henry A. Potter, occupying a prominent
position in commercial circles in Ovid, with a
business reputation that any man might be
proud to possess, is a native of Starkey, Yates
county, New York, born April 6, 1840, his
parents being Edward and Sophia (Welter)
Potter, the former a native of Rhode Island and
the latter of New Jersey. They became resi-
dents of New York, however, and Edward Pot-
ter spent his active business life in the Empire
state and in Michigan, arriving in the latter
state in 1855. He settled on wild land south
of Shepardsville, Clinton county, and for a
long period was associated with agricultural in-
terests but is now living in Ovid. His wife
passed away in 1886. In their family was a
daughter, Amelia, now the wife of D. F.
Aldrich, of Ovid.
Their elder child, Henry A. Potter of this
review, was educated at Eddytown Seminary in
New York after completing a common-school
course. He afterward engaged in teaching
school in Ovid, arriving here in 1856. His time
and energies were devoted to educational work
in the winter seasons while in the summer
months he was engaged at farm labor, his time
being thus passed until 1862, when in the month
of July he responded to his country's call, en-
listing in Company B, Fourth Michigan
Cavalry. He was mustered in at Detroit, on
the 28th of August, 1862, and became duty
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H. A. POTTER.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
3i
sergeant. He was promoted to orderly ser-
geant in 1862 and second lieutenant April 6,
1863. Nine days later he was made first lieu-
tenant and assigned to Company M, and in
August, 1864, he was commissioned captain and
was placed in command of Company H of the
same regiment. He was never wounded al-
though he had his horse shot from under him
two successive days. His was the regiment that
captured Jefferson Davis. His promotions came
to him in recognition of his valor and meritori-
ous conduct on the field of battle and were also
indicative of his loyalty to the cause he es-
poused. He participated in all of the engage-
ments of his regiment from Stone river to
Atlanta and was mustered out at Nashville,
Tennessee, on the 1st of July, 1865.
Following the close of the war Captain Pot-
ter returned to Ovid and became connected with
commercial interests at this place. He secured
a situation in the store of Pearl & Faxon, but
the firm dissolved partnership in 1866 and from
that year until 1871 Mr. Potter was in partner-
ship with Mr. Faxon under the firm style of
Faxon & Potter. From 187 1 until 1873 the
firm was Faxon, Potter & Swarthout and from
1873 until 1883 was Potter & Swarthout. Mr.
Potter then purchased his partner's interest but
later he sold the business to Mr. Swarthout
and was engaged in the conduct of a creamery
from 1884 until 1901. Through the succeed-
ing year he was engaged in no active business
enterprise. In 1902 he was connected with C.
E. Jillson under the firm name of Jillson & Pot-
ter in the conduct of a mercantile enterprise and
the following year purchased his partner's in-
terest and has since continued in the dry-goods
business alone in Ovid. He is the oldest mer-
chant in the dry-goods trade in this
place and has a thoroughly . modern
store, commanding the leading trade of the
town and surrounding country. He also owns
a fine residence in Ovid. At times Mr. Potter
has met with financial reverses but honesty and
integrity have guided him in all his dealings
and he is now again conducting a successful
mercantile enterprise with a large and growing
patronage. Mr. Potter has also been identified
with banking interests, having been the presi-
dent of the First National Bank and also the
president of the State Bank of Ovid until 1905.
On the 2d of December, 1867, occurred the
marriage of Mr. Potter and Miss Kate E.
Gardner, a daughter of Peleg Gardner, a resi-
dent of the village of Potter, Yates county, New
York. The children of this marriage are : Mon-
roe B. Potter, who was born in 1869 and died
in 1874; Edward Gardner, who was born in
April, 1 871, and died in August of the same
year; and Bertha Louise, who was born in 1876
and is the wife of Rev. Samuel G. Palmer, of
the Presbyterian church at Union Springs, New
York.
In his political affiliation Mr. Potter is a stal-
wart republican and is a member of George A.
Winans post, G. A. R., at Ovid, while since
1869 he has been a member of Grace Methodist
Episcopal church. For many years he has been
officially connected with the church as steward
and trustee, and has been superintendent of the
Sunday-school. On the 19th of May, 1900, he
was sent as a delegate to the general conference
held in Chicago. He was chairman of the
building committee at the time of the erection
of its present house of worship in 1893 and the
success that attended this movement is largely
due to his efforts. He is a man of strong and
steadfast purpose, always true to his honest con-
victions and reliable in all life's relations and
wherever known he has gained the warm
friendship and high regard of those with whom
he has been associated.
EDGAR BURK.
Edgar Burk, devoting his time and energies
to general agricultural pursuits on section 1,
Greenbush township, is a native of Ohio, his
birth having occurred in Fredericktown, Knox
county, on the 24th of April, 1864. His father,
William Burk, was a native of Baltimore,
Maryland, born in 1818, and was a son of
Squire Burk, who removed to Ohio about 1828.
William Burk was reared in the Buckeye state
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
and was there married to Miss Mary Jane
Huff, also a native of Ohio. For a number
of years he followed farming in Ohio but in
1879 came to Michigan, settling in Greenbush
township, Clinton county. He had first visited
this section of the state in 1849 an^ had Pur"
chased land, which he afterward sold. Return-
ing to the county twenty years later he located
on a farm, which he began to cultivate and im-
prove, and he now has a neat and attractive
place. He has reared his family here and still
resides upon the old homestead adjoining the
farm on which his son Edgar now resides.
The latter is the eldest in a family of ten
children and aided in improving and developing
the old home place, remaining there with his
father until he had attained his majority. He
acquired his elementary education in the com-
mon schools and later attended school in Ovid
and was a student in St. Johns, Big
Rapids and the Michigan Agricultural Col-
lege. He then began teaching and for thirteen
consecutive years followed that profession in
Clinton and Ionia counties. He was principal
of the schools of Eureka, also at Hubbardston
for three years, having four teachers under his
direction. He was likewise principal of the
schools of Manhattan, Montana, for a year and
of Dewitt for two years, while in the period
of his early connection with educational work
he was a district school teacher.
Mr. Burk was married in Greenbush town-
ship, June 29, 1897, to Miss Martha E. Beck,
daughter of John Beck, of Greenbush township,
who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mrs.
Burk was born, reared and educated here.
After his marriage Mr. Burk taught school for
one year and then located on his farm, having
previously purchased a tract of eighty acres.
He has since built a good, neat residence and a
large new barn with big sheds for the shelter
of grain and stock. He uses the latest improved
machinery in carrying on his farm work and
has a well improved property. He has planted
some fruit and his fields are richly cultivated,
returning to him a gratifying harvest.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Burk have been born two
children : Clarence and Lucile. Politically Mr.
Burk is a stanch republican and when twenty-
one years of age was elected school inspector, in
which capacity he served for several years.
Since locating on the farm he has been elected
supervisor and by re-election has continued in
the office for six years. He is now serving
on a number of important committees on the
board and is chairman of some of the chief com-
mittees. He has frequently been chosen as a
delegate to numerous county and state con-
ventions and is recognized as one of the party
leaders in his locality, while in office he has
always been loyal to the public good and has
contributed in substantial measure to the general
welfare by the efficient manner in which he
has discharged his official duties. He and his
wife are members of the Evangelical church of
Eureka, take an active interest in its work and
Mr. Burk is now serving as superintendent of
the Sunday-school, in which capacity he has
served for a number of years. His efforts in
behalf of the school have been far-reaching and
beneficial. He belongs to Eureka lodge, A. F.
& A. M., and is its present master. He has
also been its representative to the grand lodge
and belongs to the Woodmen camp, in which he
has been venerable consul to the Grange and to
the Farmers' Club. He has a wide and favor-
able acquaintance throughout Clinton county
and is a man of good business ability and ex-
emplary habits. His efforts have been of ma-
terial benefit to the county in educational and
political circles and his name commands respect
wherever he is known.
ADIN W. SKINNER.
Adin W. Skinner, formerly interested in ag-
ricultural pursuits in Bengal township and now
serving as county treasurer of Clinton county,
was born in Novi, Oakland county, Michigan,
March 15, 1857, his parents being Adin C. and
Eliza (Armstrong) Skinner, the former a na-
tive of Wayne and the latter of Oakland
county, Michigan, a fact which indicates that
in both the paternal and maternal lines heJs
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
33
a representative of pioneer families of this
state. The father was a farmer by occupation
and at the time of the Civil war he responded to
the country's call for troops, enlisting as a
member of Company I, Twenty-seventh Michi-
gan Regiment. On the 6th of May, 1864, m
the battle of the Wilderness, he gave his life in
defense of the Union cause, being at that time
only twenty-nine years of age. His widow,
long surviving him, passed away in 1873, at
the age of fifty-five years. They were the par-
ents of three children : Adin W. ; Eliza, the
wife of John Stevens, of Oklahoma; and Jep-
tha, of Janesville, Wisconsin.
Adin W. Skinner pursued his education in
the public schools, remaining with his mother
until the home was broken up at the time of
her death in 1873. He was then a youth of
sixteen years. Being thrown upon his own re-
sources he went first to Oakland county, Michi-
gan, where he remained for ten years and
thence came to Clinton county. On attaining
his majority he began farming on his own ac-
count on a tract of land of eighty acres in Ben-
gal township. This was in 1887. He still
owns the land, which has been transformed
into a good farm, and he continued his agri-
cultural pursuits until called to public office.
Mr. Skinner has always been an advocate
of republican principles, firm and loyal in his
support of the party. In 1896 he was elected
supervisor of his township for a term of three
years and was also clerk for two years. In
1904 he was chosen to- the office of county
treasurer of Clinton county, receiving a major-
ity of over twelve hundred votes on the repub-
lican ticket, so that he is the present incumbent
in that position.
On the 4th of January, 1877, Mr. Skinner
was united in marriage to Miss Frances Mur-
dock, a daughter of John and Margaret
(Clarke) Murdock, of Oakland county, who
were natives of New York state. They came
to Michigan in 1850 and established their home
in Oakland county. Mr. and Mrs. Skinner are
well known in St. Johns and their circle of
friends is constantly growing. He is a member
of the Maccabees Tent and is a man whose ad-
vancement in life has been secured through
his own efforts. He has worked his way up-
ward from a humble position and whatever
success or advantages he has enjoyed are at-
tributable to his own well directed labor. He
is now proving a capable county official and
the concensus of public opinion regarding his
service as county treasurer is very favorable.
FRED C. OPPENLANDER.
Fred C. Oppenlander, whose well developed
farm of one hundred and sixty acres is an
indication of an active life, characterized by
unremitting diligence and sound business judg-
ment, was born in Germany, December 11,
1854, his parents being John and Mary (Stortz)
Oppenlander, who were likewise natives of that
country. The father came with his family to
the United States in 1870, first locating in
Lansing township, Ingham county, Michigan,
where he remained for six months. He then
removed to Dewitt township, Clinton county,
where he settled on a farm and subsequently
took up his abode on the eastern boundary line
of Watertown township, where he resided until
1 88 1. In that year he removed with his son,
Fred C. Oppenlander, to the latter's farm and
resided here until his death, which occurred
in 1888, when he was sixty-six years of age.
His wife, surviving him for about a decade,
passed away in 1898, at the age of seventy-three
years.
Fred C. Oppenlander acquired his education
in the schools of his native country and with
his parents came to Michigan when fifteen years
of age. He afterward worked as a farm hand
by the month for eleven years and then desirous
that his labors should more directly benefit him-
self he rented a farm in Dewitt township for
two years. About that time he was married
and in 1881 he purchased his present farm of
eighty acres on section 20, in Watertown town-
ship. He first bought the west eighty acres
but has added to the original tract until he now
has a quarter section. He has improved the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
house by additions and repairs until it is now
a comfortable, modern residence and he also
built a good barn in 1893. The farm is well
fenced, is equipped with modern accessories and
conveniences and he uses the latest improved
machinery in carrying on the work of the
fields.
On the 8th of November, 1881, Mr. Oppen-
lander was married to Miss Mary Schray, a
daughter of Conrad Schray, of Dewitt town-
ship" Clinton county. They have four chil-
dren, Anna, Charles, Mabel and Frank. Mr.
Oppenlander is a member of the Modern Wood-
men camp and his religious faith is indicated
by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal
church. In politics he has always been a
stanch republican and has served as town-
ship treasurer for two years. In the spring of
1890 he was elected as supervisor and has
five times been re-elected to the office, in which
he is the present incumbent, acting as chairman
of the board at this writing in 1905. He exer-
cises his official prerogatives in support of
many measures for the general good and his
efforts have been an effective force in promoting
public improvement. He is thorough, pro-
gressive and enterprising both in public life and
in control of his private business interests.
REV. JONATHAN E. RICHARDS.
Rev. Jonathan E. Richards, a distinguished
divine of the Presbyterian church, well known
throughout Michigan, was born near Trenton,
New York, in 1845. His parents, Lewis and
Emeline (Camp) Richards, were natives of
Wales and crossing the Atlantic in early life
became residents of the state of New York.
The father purchased a farm near Trenton and
became one of the wealthy agriculturists of that
locality, where both he and his wife spent their
remaining days. The capable management of
his business interests, his keen discernment and
unflagging energy proved the basis of his suc-
cess and made him a wealthy man.
Rev. Jonathan E. Richards, reared in his
native county, began his education in the public
schools there and afterward attended the Wes-
leyan University. Subsequently he became a
student in Boston Theological Seminary and
afterward entered Yale College, thus receiving
superior educational facilities. Having pre-
pared for the ministry he went to New Haven,
Connecticut, where he took charge of the
Methodist Episcopal church, remaining there
for three years. He then went to St. Johns,
Michigan, where he accepted the pastorate of
the Presbyterian church, remaining in charge
at that place for eight years. Subsequently he
traveled over the state for several years, de-
livering lectures and winning wide fame as a
platform orator. Eventually he settled in Mount
Clemens, where for three years he was pastor
of the Presbyterian church. He had been in
ill health for several years and traveled largely
in the hope of being benefited thereby. At
length his health, however, forced him to re-
sign his pastorate but he continued to make his
home in Mount Clemens until called to his final
rest.
Rev. Richards was married in Fulton, New
York, to Miss Huldah Loomis, a native of
that place and a graduate of the Falley Semi-
nary at Fulton, of the class of 1868. The
Loomis family were the first to locate at Fulton,
and Mrs. Richards is a member of the Order of
Colonial Dames and also the Daughters of the
American Revolution. She was to her husband
a most devoted companion and helpmate and
since his death she has displayed splendid busi-
ness and executive force at the same time pos-
sessing those true womanly traits of character
that have endeared her to all, while her social
qualities have made her a leader in society cir-
cles here. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Richards were
born four children: Anne, the eldest, a gradu-
ate of the Michigan University of Ann Arbor,
is the wife of Harry Coleman, who was also
a university student and is prominent in literary
circles in Ann Arbor. He is now the owner
and publisher of the Daily Press at Pontiac,
Michigan, where he and his wife reside. He
has had several flattering offers to return to
Ann Arbor and take charge of one of the daily
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Richards
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
37
papers here but is meeting with gratifying suc-
cess in Pontiac and therefore does not make the
change. Florence L. Richards, also educated
in the State University, is now a teacher in the
Shortridge high school in Indianapolis, Indiana,
and the superintendent of that school has spoken
of her as its best teacher. Lewis L. is a
talented musician now studying in Europe. A
contemporary publication said of him : "Lewis
L. Richards, the young American, who has won
such signal honors abroad, evinced at an early
age a remarkable musical talent, and was en-
couraged by several eminent teachers to make
his life work along musical lines. His early
musical education was received from Mrs.
Boris L. Ganapol, the Detroit pianist, and he
later studied with Alberto Jonas, while attend-
ing school in Ann Arbor. The inspiration and
guidance of his early studies followed the young
man through his whole career and culminated
in 1902 in a trip abroad. Young Richards ap-
plied for admission to the private class of De-
Greef, the great Belgian pianist, and was im-
mediately accepted and continued to work with
that great master for one year. DeGreef
greatly encouraged him to go further, and chose
him as one of six young men, whom he se-
lects each year, from a large number of ap-
plicants, for his class in the Royal Conservatory
of Music located at Brussels, Belgium. Here
Richards continued to make such rapid strides
that at the end of the year, he was the only one
of his class who successfully passed the rigid
conservatory examinations. In the middle of
the second year of his conservatory work, on
a visit of King Leopard to the institution, young
Richards was presented to his majesty as "one
of the most gifted pupils" in the great con-
servatory. At the end of the year — June, 1905,
— Richards entered the conservatory contests
and was awarded by a jury composed of
Gaevaert, director of the Brussels conservatory,
Kozul, director of the conservatory at Roubaix,
Ghymers, Potjes, Tinel, etc., the first prize with
distinction, the first time in the history of that
institution that an American had captured the
honor. Mr. Richards returned to Europe in
September for further study and for concert
3
work, he already having a tour arranged for
Belgium and Holland/' Theodore Nelson, the
youngest member of the Richards family, is
now a student in the high school of Ann Arbor
and resides with his mother.
Rev. Richards departed this life on the 1st
of October, 1893. He was a distinguished
minister and a prominent citizen of Michigan,
well known as a lecturer throughout the state.
His scholarly attainments won him the admira-
tion of all, while his humanitarian principles
gained him the love and esteem of his fellow-
men. He lived for others and his devotion to
his family was largely ideal. As Mrs. Richards
intended to make Ann Arbor her future home
she had the remains of her husband taken there
for interment. It was her desire to have her
children educated in Michigan University and
in 1894 she removed from Mount Clemens to
Ann Arbor and her children continued their
studies there. Mrs. Richards is very prominent
in social circles, being recognized as a leader
by reason of her tact, her kindly disposition,
her superior culture and her generous hospital-
ity. Moreover she possesses splendid business
ability and has made judicious investment of
her means. She has built several houses and
has recently erected two nice residences on East
Huron street, Ann Arbor, one of which she
has sold, while the other, at No. 713 East
Huron street, she and her children now occupy.
She has every reason to be proud of her family,
for all have attained distinction in literary or
professional circles, and the influence of the
members of the Richards family has ever been
on the side of intellectual and aesthetic culture.
WILLIAM L. TALLMAN.
The Tallman family, of which William L.
Tallman is a representative, is of Welsh lineage
and the family was established in New Eng-
land at an early epoch in the history of the
new world. Elihu Tallman was a native of
Connecticut, and in 1788 removed to New
York, where he was married to Miss Lucretia
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Perkins, a native of that state. The following
year he went to Pennsylvania. His son, Akins
E. Tallman, father of our subject, was born in
Wayne county, Pennsylvania, in 1810, and
was reared in that state upon the old home-
stead farm in the midst of a heavily timbered
country. He never attended school after eight
years of age and his educational privileges
were therefore very limited but he gained good,
practical knowledge in the school of experi-
ence. He remained upon the home farm until
he had attained his majority and on the 27th
of May, 1832, he was united in marriage to
Miss Samantha Dix, who was of Scotch line-
age and was also a native of Pennsylvania. At
the age of twenty-six years Akins E. Tallman
removed to Ohio and in 1854 came to Michi-
gan, settling in Eagle township, Clinton
county. He located three hundred and forty-
four acres of land on section 15, of which two
hundred and twenty-four acres is now owned
by his son William L. In all of his business
affairs he was practical, enterprising and suc-
cessful. He had been the owner of a farm of
one hundred and sixty acres in Ohio and after
his removal to Michigan he lived upon the
home farm on section 15, Victor township, un-
til 1883, when he removed to Grand Ledge,
Michigan. He was a man of marked energy
and unfaltering determination as is indicated
by the fact that in early life he earned the
money with which he paid for two hundred and
forty acres of land in Wayne county, Penn-
sylvania, but he lost this through a defective
title. Following his arrival in this state he se-
cured three hundred and forty-four acres from
Miles Mansfield on section 15, Eagle township,
and with characteristic energy he began the cul-
tivation and improvement of that place. This
is the homestead farm now owiied and occu-
pied by our subject, who purchased the interest
of the other heirs in the property. Akins E.
Tallman had the distinction of having cleared
five hundred acres of wild land and thus he
contributed in substantial measure to the im-
provement and development of the locality in
which he resided. He was one of the oldest
Masons, having been made a member of the
fraternity in 1866. His death occurred in
1903, at the age of ninety-two years. He was
a trustworthy man, giving his attention to his
own affairs and so directing his labors that as
the years passed he won a comfortable compe-
tency. His wife, who was born in 18 12, died
December 11, 1877. Of the children born of
that marriage, four are yet living: Jennie, the
wife of Isaac Stark, of Grand Ledge, Michi-
gan; Louisa, the wife of E. F. Brown, of
Eagle township ; Christopher C, who is living
at North Yamhill, Oregon; and William L., of
this review. Those who have passed away are
Oliver P., George W., Minerva J., Alpheus
W. and Lawson D. After losing his first wife
the father was again married, his second union
being with Sarah Pennington, who died in
1901.
William L. Tallman was born in Seneca
county, Ohio, January 9, 1847, and pursued
his education in the district schools and in
the high school of Lansing and of Portland,
Michigan. Through the summer months he
assisted in the work of the fields and meadows
and he continued upon the old homestead farm
until twenty-five years of age, when he took
possession of a farm of his own of three hun-
dred acres, upon which he lived for two years.
He then sold out and bought the interests of
the other heirs in the homestead farm, thus
becoming owner of two hundred and twenty-
four acres on section 15, Eagle township. This
property is under a fine state of cultivation at
the present time. Mr. Tallman has worked
out his own success by diligence and careful
management and is to-day one of the prosper-
ous and prominent agriculturists of Clinton
county. He is extensively engaged in feeding
sheep and his stock-raising and farming inter-
ests are both proving profitable.
On the 22d of October, 1872, Mr. Tallman
was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Adams,
a daughter of Joseph H. and Hannah Adams,
of Auburn, New York. Their children are:
Glenn R, who died November 12, 1886; Grace
E., the wife of F. S. Byam, of Eagle township;
Matie R, at home; and Molly M., also under
the parental roof.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
39
In his political views Mr. Tallman is a re-
publican and has served as school inspector for
two years. He was also highway commis-
sioner for four years, has been supervisor of
Eagle township since 1898 and chairman of
the board for one year. He has returned to the
office of supervisor each year with increased
majorities — a fact which indicates his fidelity
in office, the trust reposed in him and his per-
sonal popularity with his fellowmen. He is
especially interested in the welfare and prog-
ress of the community and his co-operation
can be counted upon to further any movement
for the public good. He belongs to Grand
Ledge lodge, No. 79, A. F. & A. M., with
which he has affiliated since twenty-one years
of age and he is also a member of the Grange.
In his farm work he is enterprising and in-
dustrious, making the most of his opportuni-
ties and is meeting with creditable success.
WARREN SMITH BARNARD.
Warren Smith Barnard, editor and publisher
of the Maple Rapids Dispatch of Maple
Rapids, Clinton county, was born April
17, 1876, in Delta township, Eaton
county, Michigan. His parents were Albert
D. and Nellie (Neff) Barnard. The
father followed the occupation of farming un-
til 1883, when he engaged in lumbering, while
later he turned his attention to merchandising,
which he followed up to the time of his death
in December, 1894. His widow still survives
and makes her home in Durand, Michigan.
Daniel Barnard, the grandfather of our sub-
ject, was well known in Eaton county and vi-
cinity as a Methodist exhorter. By occupation
he was a farmer and for many years he owned
and cultivated a tract of land near Delta Mills,
Eaton county, where his death occurred about
^873. The grandparents on both sides were
natives of New York.
W. S. Barnard attended the district schools
between the ages of seven and nine years, sub-
sequent to which time he continued his educa-
tion in Maple Rapids and in Durand, but left
school after reaching the ninth grade. At that
time he became a printer's apprentice and later
accepted a clerkship in a clothing store, but
the printing trade had stronger attractions for
him and he soon returned to that business,
with which he has been connected in One or
more departments to the present time. He was
three years of age when his parents removed
to Fulton township, Gratiot county, Michigan,
and in 1883 ^s father sold his farm there and
took up his abode at a lumbering camp on the
county line between Lake and Newaygo coun-
ties, where he resided for about a year. The
next home of the family was at Maple Rapids,
where the father became identified with the
lumbering firm of Jones, Barnard & Company,
and in the fall of 1890 the company established
a sawmill and oar factory at Durand, to which
place the Barnard family then removed. Mr.
Barnard of this review attended school in Dur-
and for two or three years but he disliked
study and was attracted to the printer's trade,
to which he gave all of his spare time, working
at nights after school and on Saturdays for
the pleasure that it afforded him. After several
years spent in the office of the Durand Express
he left home for the first time and went to
Laingsburg, where he obtained a situation in
a printing office. Subsequently he entered the
office of the now defunct North Lansing Record
and in April, 1897, at the age of twenty-one
years, assumed control of the Maple Rapids
Dispatch, which he has since published with
the exception of a few months spent in a job
office in St. Paul, Minnesota, during the win-
ter of 1 901.
On the 24th of November, 1898, at Maple
Rapids, Mr. Barnard was married to Miss
Daisy M. Hooker, the eldest daughter of
Charles and Alvaretta Hooker. She was a com-
positor in his office at the time and is now as-
sociated with her husband in business. Mr.
Barnard is a member of the Knights of the
Maccabees, with which he has affiliated for
the past three years, and he is also a member
of the Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip. He
is a man of rather a retiring disposition, en-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
tirely free from ostentation and disliking pub-
licity, but in his business career he has dis-
played qualities that lead to success and have
made him a capable editor in the publication
of the Maple Rapids Dispatch.
JUDGE SHERMAN B. DABOLL.
Judge Sherman B. Daboll, a practitioner at
the Clinton county bar residing at St. Johns,
was born on the 18th of May, 1844, in Nassau,
New York, a son of George W. and Lydia
(James) Daboll. The ancestry both in the
lineal and collateral lines and on the paternal
and maternal sides is distinctively American as
far back as it can be traced and both the father
and mother were descended from soldiers of
the Revolutionary war. George W. Daboll was
a farmer, teacher and miller, closely associated
with the industrial and intellectual progress of
his community.
Sherman B. Daboll pursued his education in
the common schools of Rensselaer and Madison
counties, New York, and in Brookfield
Academy at Brookfield, New York. When he
was nine years of age the home was broken up
owing to the failure of the mother's health and
from that time forward Mr. Daboll made his
own way in the world, working on farms
through the summer months and attending
school in the winter seasons until fourteen years
of age. He then removed from Stephentown,
New York, to Brookfield, where he was
similarly employed until his enlistment for
service in the Civil war on the 28th of July,
1862, as a member of Company G, One Hun-
dred and Seventeenth Regiment of New York
Infantry, which he joined at Clayville. He
served first as private and afterward as cor-
poral and continued with his regiment until the
close of hostilities, being on duty with the
Army of the Potomac and the Army of the
James. He was at Charleston Harbor during
the siege of Forts Wagner and Sumter and par-
ticipated in the campaign of Cold Harbor and
the sieges of Petersburg and Richmond. He
was also with the army at Dairy's Bluff and
Bermuda Hundred and was with both expedi-
tions to Fort Fisher, North Carolina. His regi-
ment— the One Hundred and Seventeenth New
York — was attached to the First Brigade of the
Second Division of the Tenth Army Corps,
leading the assault on that fort on the 15th of
January, 1865, which resulted in its capture,
both parties being in the fort fighting for its
possession for seven hours. By reason of the
close of the war Mr. Daboll was honorably dis-
charged from the army June 8, 1865. He had
been wounded in the right forearm July 4,
1864, by a piece of shell from a battery near
Petersburg, Virginia, while in the siege works
outside the city. It was feared that he would
have to lose his arm but it was finally saved.
Following the close of the war Mr. Daboll
took up the study of law in Brookfield, New
York, and afterward continued as a student in
the law office of Bennett & Aylesworth at New
Berlin, Chenango county, New York. His
reading was followed by his admission to the
bar on the 18th of November, 1868, and he
located for practice at Brookfield, where he re-
mained until 1878. He made consecutive
progress there in his practice and in 1874 was
elected district attorney of Madison county,
which position he filled for three years. He
entered upon the practice of law in St. Johns,
Michigan, in the spring of 1879 m company
with Anthony Cook and has since been con-
nected with the courts in this part of the state,
engaging in general practice. Military and
judicial honors have been accorded him. He
was appointed quartermaster general of the
militia of Michigan by Governor Cyrus G.
Luce in January, 1886, and was re-appointed in
January, 1888. In August, 1888, he received
appointment from Governor Luce to the posi-
tion of judge of the twenty-ninth judicial cir-
cuit of Michigan and was elected the next spring
to the same office for the unexpired term of
three and a half years. On the expiration of
that period he was elected for the further term
of six years, thus serving for ten and a half
years as circuit judge, his course upon the
bench being distinguished by fairness and im-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
43
partiality and a masterful grasp of the various
judicial problems presented for solution. In
the convention for another nomination there
was a deadlock lasting ten days and the con-
vention closed without nominating. On the
ist of January, 1901, his term expired and he
retired from the office and on the 15th of May
following he was appointed a special agent of
the postal service, a position which he still
holds.
Judge Daboll was married, August 19, 1869,
at New^ Berlin, New York, to Miss Elizabeth
Campbell, who is descended on her father's
side from the clan Campbell of Scotland and on
her mother's side from Governor William
Bradford, Governor of the Plymouth colony by
his second marriage, being a descendant of the
eldest son, Major William Bradford. Mrs.
Daboll is a representative of the Bradford fam-
ily in the seventh generation. Judge Daboll has
but one child, a daughter, Winifred Campbell
Daboll, born September 29, 1873. She is a
graduate of the Michigan University at Ann
Arbor, having completed the literary course,
winning the degrees of A. B. and M. A.
Following his return from the wfar Judge
Daboll became a member of the Loyal Legion
and he belongs to the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Masonic fraternity, in which
he has attained the Knight Templar degree.
He is a communicant of the Protestant Episco-
pal church and has always been a republican in
politics, in former years taking an active part in
every campaign and addressing large audiences
upon political themes in various parts of the
state.
ELIJAH W. COBB.
Elijah W. Cobb, of Elsie, is one of the few
remaining early settlers of Clinton county. He
was long known as a prominent farmer and
business man of varied interests, but is now
living retired from the more active labors and
duties of farm life. He took up his residence
in Duplain township in early pioneer days,
having made his home in this part of the state
since 1844. His birth occurred in the town of
Bennington, Wyoming county, New York,
June 18, 1829. He is a son of Joshua Cobb
and a brother of Lyman Cobb. The father
was reared in New York and was married there
to Miss Anna Doty. He followed agricultural
pursuits in the Empire state and at a later date
came with his family to the wrest, settling in
Michigan upon the land where his son now re-
sides. It was then a tract of unbroken forest
and he cut down the trees, cleared away the
stumps and brush and in due course of time
opened up a good farm, on which he spent his
remaining days, his death occurring on the 2d
of May, 1852. He donated the land for ceme-
tery purposes and his grave was the first one
made in Elsie cemetery. His wife survived him
for nearly thirty years and passed away in
August, 1882.
Elijah W. Cobb w^as reared under the pa-
rental roof and assisted in clearing up the farm
that he now owrns, having one hundred acres of
rich and valuable land at the present time. He
built a large residence and barn there and de-
veloped the place as it is to-day. In all that he
undertakes he is resolute and determined and
never falters before he has reached successful
accomplishment. At one time he was engaged
in merchandising at Elsie, becoming owner of
a good hardware, implement and grocery busi-
ness, which he conducted for a number of years.
In Howell, Livingston county, Michigan,
Mr. Cobb w^as married on the 14th of Novem-
ber, 1855, to Miss Ann Sickles, a native of
Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, born May
19, 1 83 1. Her father, John F. Sickles, was
likewise a native of the Empire state but was
born in Saratoga county. He was reared in
Palmyra and was married there to Miss Betsy
Smalley, a native of New York. Like her hus-
band she was born in 1792. Mr. Sickles was
a farmer of Wayne county, where he resided
until 1836, when he removed to Wayne county,
Michigan, settling near Detroit, where he pur-
chased a farm, upon which he reared his fam-
ily. He died there in 1839. Mrs. Cobb was
educated at Northville Academy and at Ypsi-
lanti Normal School and later she engaged in
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
teaching for some years, following that pro-
fession for several years prior to her marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Cobb have a son who is yet liv-
ing, Arthur E. Cobb, who is a farmer now
residing on the old family homestead in this
county. He is married and has three chil-
dren: William Cobb, who is an operator at
Henrietta, Michigan; Francis, a student in
Alma College; and Anna, the wife of Fred
Jarvis, of Ovid. Mr. and Mrs. Cobb also have
educated and reared an adopted daughter,
Grace, who is now the wife of John Seltering-
ton, of Hamilton, Gratiot county, Michigan.
They also lost three children: William S., who
died at the age of eight years ; Gertrude, about
fourteen months old ; and Agnes, an infant.
In his political views Mr. Cobb has been a
lifelong supporter of the republican party, giv-
ing unfaltering allegiance to its men and
measures. He served as town treasurer for
some years and was also postmaster for several
years but has never been an active politician in
the sense of office seeking. He and his wife are
members of the Baptist church and Mr. Cobb
belongs to the Masonic fraternity, while he and
his wife are affiliated with the Eastern Star
lodge. He has always been a busy and useful
man and has assisted in improving Elsie and
Clinton county. Known as a man of tried in-
tegrity and worth, he enjoys the confidence and
esteem of all with whom he has been brought in
contact and as a pioneer resident of this locality
certainly deserves mention in this volume.
DEAN W. KELLEY.
Dean W. Kelley, possessing inherent force
of character, strong and determined purpose
which enabled him to acquire an education in
the face of difficulties and is now the source of
his advancement at the bar, is one of the
younger representatives of the legal fraternity
and yet his powers do not seem limited by his
years. He was born July n, 1876, in Osceola
county and is a son of Samuel and Minnie
(H^gadone) Kelley, the former a native of
Clinton county and the latter of Mecosta county,
Michigan. Both are residents of Evart, the
father being a representative farmer of his lo-
cality, Avhile some years ago he was a successful
lumberman. The Kelleys came originally from
Ontario, while the Hagadone family was es-
tablished in Pennsylvania at an early day and
was represented in the Revolutionary war.
Dean W. Kelley spent his youth upon his
father's farm in Osceola county, improving the
advantages afforded by the public schools and
when sixteen years of age he was qualified for
teaching, a profession which he followed at
intervals for a number of years. As his labors
brought sufficient capital to meet the expense of
a higher educational bourse he attended the
Evart high school at intervals and was gradu-
ated therefrom with the class of 1896, com-
pleting the work of the junior and senior years
in one year. Subsequently he attended the State
Normal College at Ypsilanti, Michigan, from
which he was graduated in 1899. He is truly
a self-educated man, as he provided the funds
for tuition and other expenses of his college
course. His scholarship and personal popularity
are indicated by the fact that he was chosen
president of his class in both the junior and
senior years, was president of the Athenaeum,
the literary society of the college, for three
terms, was a member of the debating team
which defeated Albion College in 1899, and
won the oratorical medal in 1898.
Mr. Kelley's choice of a profession fell upon
the law and his honors in debate and oratory
would seem that he had qualifications that would
well fit him for work at the bar. In 1900 he
entered the law department of the University of
Michigan, but his collegiate course was not con-
tinuous, as in 1 90 1 he came to St. Johns to ac-
cept the position of instructor in English and
civics in the high school, where he continued
teaching for two years. He resigned in 1902,
however, in order to take the state bar exami-
nation, which he successfully passed with a
creditable record. He then opened his law
office in St. Johns, where he has since practiced
with a constantly growing clientage, his busi-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
47
ness increasing yearly both in volume and im-
portance.
Mr. Kelley is recognized as one of the lead-
ers among the younger advocates of the
democracy. He is a student of the questions
of the day, thoroughly informed concerning the
great political principles which are working for
the weal or woe of the nation. He is not bit-
terly partisan and yet he stands firm in support
of his convictions. Only once has he been a
candidate for office, having in 1904 received his
party's nomination for prosecuting attorney, at
which time he made a phenomenal race. He
won the entire party's support and many of the
votes which usually go to the republican can-
didates, for he was defeated by an extremely
small majority and he carried his home city of
St. Johns by one hundred and fifty. His study
of the signs of the times has led him to be-
come a supporter of the present presidential ad-
ministration.
On the 25th of December, 1901, Mr. Kelley
was married to Miss Thurza Mae Judd, a
daughter of George H. Judd, a pioneer of St.
Johns, and they have one daughter, Gwendolyn
J. Mr. Kelley's position socially and profes-
sionally is the outcome of personal worth, his
advancement at the bar resulting from close
application, laudable ambition and untiring de-
votion to his clients' interests.
JACOB F. SHRAFT.
Jacob F. Shraft, for years one of the active
business men and leading citizens of Fowler,
who has figured not only in industrial and com-
mercial circles but also in political life in Clin-
ton county, was born in Livingston county,
Michigan, May 17, 1837. His father, Jacob
Shraft, Sr., was a native of Germany and was
there reared and educated. Following his
marriage he emigrated to the new world, be-
coming a resident of Livingston county, Michi-
gan, in 1830, Avhen this commonwealth was
still under territorial rule. He later removed
to Wayne county, where he located on a farm
that continued to be his home throughout his
remaining days.
Jacob F. Shraft of this review largely spent
his youth in Detroit, living there between the
age of seven and eighteen years. After
putting aside his text-books he learned the car-
penter's and joiner's trade and in 1857 he ca™e
to Clinton county and was employed at car-
pentering in Clinton and Ionia counties for
a number of years, being connected with the
building of a number of leading structures
in this part of the state. He was also engaged
in buying and dealing in staves for nine years
and in 1866 he bought out a general mercan-
tile business in Fowler and subsequently
started a hardware store. He continued as one
of the active and enterprising merchants of the
village until 1893, covering a period of twenty-
seven years, during which time a liberal pat-
ronage was accorded him. He made a close
study of the needs and wishes of the public
and by his earnest desire to please his patrons
and his fair and honorable dealing built up a
business which in extent and importance made
his trade very profitable.
In the midst of an active mercantile enter-
prise Mr. Shraft also found time to serve in
positions of public trust. In 1874 he was elected
register of deeds and filled the office for one
term. In 1882 he was chosen county clerk
and has served as township clerk since 1866,
being the present efficient officer. He has like-
wise been village clerk for ten years and in all
these different positions he has proved capable
and loyal, discharging his duties with prompt-
ness and fidelity.
Mr. Shraft was married in Detroit to Miss
Mary F. Davenport, who was reared in Dallas
township, Clinton county. She died May 12,
1893, leaving a son, Charles E. Shraft, who is
now pursuing a course in civil engineering.
Mr. Shraft is a prominent member of St.
Johns lodge, A. F. & A. M., also of the chap-
ter and commandery there, and has thus at-
tained the Knight Templar degree of the York
rite. He is also a member of the Ancient Or-
der of United Workmen, a fraternal insurance
organization. For a half century he has wit-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
nessed the growth and development of Clinton
county and is widely known throughout his
community as a man of business integrity and
worth who owes his advancement not to any
fortunate combination of circumstances but to
his close application and diligence and in an
active business career he has found that unre-
mitting industry will solve the problem of how
to win success.
ROSWELL C. DEXTER.
Roswell C. Dexter, who for sixteen years
has been connected with the First National
Bank of St. Johns, occupying the position of
cashier for two years, was born in Greenbush,
Michigan, October 16, 1859, His father,
Chauncey Dexter, was a native of New York
and at an early period in the settlement of
Michigan came to this county, establishing his
home in Greenbush. He married Miss Lydia
Broughan, who was born in Ohio, and both
have now passed away, the father's death hav-
ing occurred in 1886, when he was fifty-three
years of age, while his wife died when their son
Roswell was only nine years of age. Having
come to the west, Chauncey Dexter secured a
tract of land and lived the quiet life of a
farmer. In his family were two sons and a
daughter : Roswell C. ; Mary, now deceased ;
and Burr, who is living upon the homestead
farm at Greenbush.
Roswell C. Dexter is indebted to the com-
mon schools for the early educational advan-
tages which he enjoyed and later he had the
privilege of attending the Albion College, at
Albion, Michigan, for two years, completing
his course there in 1882. He then came to St.
Johns, Michigan, to enter upon his business
career and secured a position as bookkeeper in
the First National Bank. His capability and
fidelity, however, won him recognition in suc-
cessive promotions and he was made teller and
afterward assistant cashier, acting in the latter
capacity for sixteen years, when in April,
1903, he was chosen cashier. In 1885 the name
of the institution on the expiration of the old
charter was changed to St. Johns National
Bank. The Clinton County Savings Bank was
organized out of this bank in 1889 and it is
the largest bank of this character in the county,
being devoted to savings and investments. Mr.
Dexter is also financially interested in that in-
stitution. He is a man of much practical ex-
perience, conservative in his views, of sound
judgment and unquestioned integrity, and the
prominent position which he occupies to-day in
business circles in St. Johns is the merited re-
ward of his earnest application, ability and
fidelity.
In 1886 occurred the marriage of Roswell
C. Dexter and Miss Jennie D. Davies, a daugh-
ter of William T. and Jenette M. (Levey) Day-
ies, of Greenbush. They have two children,
Florence J. and Robert C, and the social prom-
inence of the family is that which is obtained
where intellect, culture and true worth are re-
ceived as the passports into good society. Mr.
Dexter is a prominent member of the various
Masonic bodies of St. Johns, belonging to the
lodge, chapter and council, and he also holds
membership with Detroit commandery and the
Mystic Shrine. Viewed in a personal light he
is a strong man, strong in his ability to plan
and perform, strong in his honor and has a
good name.
JAMES HOUGHTON.
Bath township finds a worthy representative
of its farming interests in James Houghton,
whose realty holdings include eighty acres on
sections 1 and 12. He was born in Oakland
county, this state, May 12, 1838. His father,
Daniel Houghton, was a native of Vermont
and spent the days of his childhood and youth
in New England but when a young man re-
moved from the Green Mountain state to Al-
bany, New York, in which city he was married
to Miss Lydia Cutler, a native of New York. In
the year 1834 Mr. Houghton came to the mid-
dle west attracted by the opportunities which
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
49
he believed Michigan offered to settlers. He
located in Oakland county, where he entered
one hundred and sixty acres of land that was
still in its primitive condition but he at once
began to clear away the timber and in the
course of time the sunlight flooded the fields
and rich harvests were eventually gathered as
a reward for the spring planting. He raised
his family upon that farm and made it his
home until his life's labors were ended in death
in 1869. His wife survived him for about
twenty-two years.
James Houghton, one of a family of three
sons and one daughter, was reared upon the
old homestead in Oakland county and did his
full share in clearing the fields and carrying on
the work of the farm, his practical experience
in youth enabling him to carefully direct his
own farming interests in later years. He had
fair common-school advantages and has al-
ways added to his knowledge by observation,
reading and experience, thus keeping in touch
with the world's progress.
On the 2d of January, i860, Mr. Houghton
was united in marriage in his native county
to Miss Mary E. Tillapaugh, who was also born
in Oakland county, Michigan. Following his
marriage Mr. Houghton carried on farming
in Oakland county for a number of years but
thought that a removal to Clinton county
might prove advantageous and in 1875 ne
bought a place on section 12, Bath township.
Here he began the further development and
improvement of the land and erected a neat
and substantia] residence, also good outbuild-
ings. There he carried on farming until
1891, when he purchased his present home on
section 1, Bath township.
Mr. Houghton was again married in this
township on the 4th of November, 1892, to a
widow, Mrs. Julia Brown, a native of the state
of New York and a daughter of Eleazer Cross,
of the Empire state, who became one of the
early settlers of Michigan. In New York he
had married Mariet Day and their daughter,
Mrs. Houghton, was reared in this state. She
first gave her hand in marriage to Ross Brown,
who was born in Lenawee county, Michigan,
and who settled on a farm on section 13, Bath
township, this county, where he died Decem-
ber 14, 1884. There were three children by
that marriage: William, Elmer and Cory
Brown. Mr. Houghton had four sons by his
first- marriage: Daniel, John, William and
James, all of whom are now married, three be-
ing residents of Chicago.
In his political views Mr. Houghton was
formerly a democrat but now endorses repub-
lican principles and votes for the men and
measures of the party. His attention, how-
ever, has been concentrated upon his business
interests, which have been an appreciable fac-
tor in winning him success.
HERBERT N. SWANEY, M. D.
Dr. Herbert N. Swaney, engaged in the
practice of medicine at Eagle, is a native of
Crawford county, Pennsylvania, born Decem-
ber 19, 1858, his parents being Hugh J. and
Juliette (Groger) Swaney, the former a native
of Pennsylvania, and the latter of New York.
They largely spent their lives in Crawford
county and both have now passed away. The
father was a valiant soldier of the Civil war,
serving in Company I, of the Eighty-third
Pennsylvania Infantry and was wounded at
the battle of Fair Oaks. He was descended
from Irish ancestry, while his wife was of
Scotch lineage. In their family were only two
children but Albert, the elder, died in infancy.
Herbert N. Swaney began his education in
the district schools of his native town and
afterward attended the State Normal School
at Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and Allegheny
College at Meadville, Pennsylvania. Subse-
quently^ he entered the University of Pennsyl-
vania at Philadelphia in 1881 and was gradu-
ated with the class of 1885, having completed
a course of medicine in that institution. He
added to his theoretical knowledge the prac-
tical training of one year's experience in the
Jewish hospital at Philadelphia, after which he
opened an office for practice at Crossingville,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Crawford county. He spent the succeeding
two years in his native state and in the spring
of 1888 came to Eagle, Clinton county, where
he has since engaged in practice with the ex-
ception of the year 1894, when he was a stu-
dent in the Philadelphia Polyclinic and College
for Graduates in Medicine, completing his
course there on the 26th of January, 1895. He
thus greatly promoted his efficiency and he has
further added to his knowledge by study and
investigation, keeping in touch with the ad-
vance of thought of the profession as the years
have gone by. He has given his attention to
general practice in Eagle township and has
been unusually successful, the consensus of
public opinion regarding his skill as extremely
favorable and a liberal patronage is accorded
him. He belongs to the American Medical
Association and practices along modern sci-
entific lines that bring desired results.
Dr. Swaney was married in 1887, to Miss
Jessie M. Davis, a daughter of James and Eliz-
abeth Davis, of Crossingville, Pennsylvania.
She died in 1890, and en the 25th of April,
1894, Dr. Swaney was married to Miss Nettie
L. Alexander, a daughter of Hon. Sidney and
Mary (Van Slyke) Alexander. They have one
child, Bruce Alexander. Dr. and Mrs. Swa-
ney have a wide and favorable acquaintance in
this part of the state and enjoy in large meas-
ure the friendship of those with whom they
have been brought in contact. He is identified
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
but his attention is chiefly given to his profes-
sional duties, wherein his labors have been of
marked value to his fellowmen as well as a
source of gratifying income to himself.
SAMUEL E. GILLAM, M. D..,
Dr. Samuel E. Gillam is a successful physi-
cian and surgeon of St. Johns who for many
years has enjoyed a large and lucrative practice
here. His grandfather, John Gillam, a native
of Ontario, Canada, removed from the Do-
minion to the state of New York and was mar-
ried near Palmyra, after which he came to
Michigan in 1833, settling in Ingham county as
one of its pioneer residents. He secured new
and unbroken land in White Oak township and
in the midst of the green woods built a log
cabin around which he cleared and developed
a farm of two hundred and twenty acres. Pos-
sessing considerable mechanical ingenuity and
having been trained along these lines he built a
blacksmith shop and worked at his trade in
connection with the prosecution of his agricul-
tural interests. He died at the age of fifty-five
years, while his wife passed away in Fowler-
vi lie, Michigan, in 1866, at the advanced age
of eighty-seven years. She belonged to the
Everett family of New York and her brother,
Samuel Everett, was one of the contractors and
builders of the Erie canal.
George W. Gillam, a son of John Gillam, was
born at Orchard Creek, near Palmyra, New
York, and was a young lad when brought by
his parents to Michigan, where he was reared
upon the home farm. He learned the black-
smith's trade under the direction of his father,
whom he also assisted in the work of the fields,
and when he had attained his majority he locat-
ed in Plainfield, where he conducted a shop un-
til 1867. He then removed to Elsie, Michigan,
and later to Fowler, where he engaged in gen-
eral merchandising. Subsequently he took up
his abode in Ovid, where he continued business
as a general merchant until 1889. In that year
he sold out and came to St. Johns, retiring from
active business pursuits. He has been promi-
nent in the Methodist Episcopal church and as
the promoter of moral development has gained
special prominence, his efforts being untiring in
behalf of religious work. He married Miss
Margaret Turner, a native of Ontario, Canada,
and a daughter of John Turner, who was a na-
tive of Scotland and was educated for the Pres-
byterian ministry. Crossing the Atlantic to the
new world he located in Canada and subse-
quently came to Michigan, where he united with
the Methodist Episcopal church. He was then
pastor of different congregations of that de-
nomination in Michigan, in Indiana and in
Illinois, and his last days were spent in Illinois.
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DR. S. E. GILLAM.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
S3
His wife bore the family name of Boise and
was born in Ireland. Her father was the
founder of a plant for the manufacture of linen
goods at Montreal, Canada, and was a very
prominent citizen there. The family name in
early generations was spelled Du Boise, and
undoubtedly the ancestors many generations ago
were from France. Dr. Gillam of this review
is the eldest of the three children of Mr. and
Mrs. George W. Gillam, his sister being Mrs.
Anna E. Doolittle, of Owasso, Michigan, and
Bertie, who died in infancy.
Dr. Gillam, born in White Oak township,
Ingham county, Michigan, April 26, 1845, was
reared in Plainfield, Livingston county, from
the age of eleven years. He was afforded good
educational privileges and his love of study sup-
plementing an apt mind enabled him to enter
the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti
when about fifteen years of age. He remained
a student there for two years. Following the
completion of his literary education he engaged
in teaching for several years, being a repre-
sentative of that profession in both the district
and graded schools. From his youth he was
desirous of studying medicine and at the age of
eighteen he began reading in the office of Dr.
P. L. Schuyler, of Iosco, Michigan. He did not
abandon his labors as a teacher, however, dur-
ing this time but pursued his studies in connec-
tion with his work in the schoolroom until 1866,
when he matriculated in the medical department
of the University of Michigan, working his
way through that institution. He was gradu-
ated in 1869 witn tne degree of Doctor of
Medicine, and at once entered upon practice in
Elsie, Clinton county, where he remained until
1877, when he went to New York for a clinical
course in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College,
from which he was graduated in March, 1878.
Returning to Elsie, Dr. Gillam practiced at
that place until 1879, when he opened an office
in St. Johns and in the years that have since
come and gone he has built up a large practice,
winning a reputation that places him in the front
ranks of the medical fraternity. His growing
practice made it desirable that he have a partner
and in 1904 he admitted Dr. Walter M. Scott
to a partnership under the firm style of Gillam
& Scott. He has been surgeon of the Detroit,
Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railroad for many
years, has been president of the United States
board of pension examiners of St. Johns, be-
ginning in 1886, and since 1873 he has been con-
nected with the State Medical Society. He has
also been president of the Clinton County Medi-
cal Society, which he assisted in organizing. Of
late years he has devoted a great deal of his
time to both abdominal and general surgery, and
his skill as an operator has given him a reputa-
tion as a surgeon seldom attained by a man in
a small city.
On the 2d of April, 1872, Dr. Gillam was
married to Miss Rose A. Finch, a native of
Williams county, Ohio, and a daughter of
Peter Finch, one of the early settlers of Clinton
county. She was a well educated lady of natural
culture and refinement and was a successful
teacher prior to her marriage. Her death oc-
curred January 14, 1905. Dr. Gillam has a
fine property in St. Johns and owns real estate
in various places. He belongs to the Masonic
fraternity, connected with the lodge, chapter and
commandery, and is also identified with other
fraternal organizations. Calling forth all his
latent powers and energies in the acquirement
of an education, he prepared for his profession
in the face of obstacles which would have de-
terred many a man of less resolute spirit but
which seemed to serve him as an impetus for
renewed effort. Consecutive advancement has
marked his entire professional career whether
in the schoolroom or in the practice of medicine
and surgery and he stands to-day as one of the
oldest and most honored physicians of St. Johns,
having an extensive practice which is the mer-
ited tribute of his skill and is an indication of
the confidence reposed in him by the general
public.
F. B. SMITH.
F. B. Smith, residing on section 34, Victor
township, has a large circle of warm friends
by Avhom he is familiarly called Frank. He
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
owns and operates a farm of one hundred and
forty acres which in its neat and attractive ap-
pearance is indicative of his careful supervision.
He was born in Lenawee county, Michigan,
April 17, 1862, and is a son of Peter Smith,
who was born in Germany, November 2, 1830,
and was reared to manhood there. When a
young man of nineteen years he came to the
new world, first locating in New York. This
was in 1849 and he resided in the Empire state
for four or five years, after which he came to
Michigan in 1854. He lived in Wayne county
for a few years, following farming near De-
troit, and later took up his abode in Lenawee
county, where he met and married Miss Louisa
Fisher, a native of England and a daughter of
James Fisher, one of the early settlers of
Lenawee county. Mr. Smith was a farmer of
Lenawee county for a number of years and in
1866 removed to Clinton county, locating in
Bath township, where he still owns and con-
ducts a farm.
F. B. Smith was reared to manhood in the
county of his nativity and is indebted to the
common-school system of Bath township for the
educational privileges he received. In the
months of summer he aided in the tilling of the
soil and the care of the crops but in early man-
hood began learning the trade of a carpenter and
joiner, which he followed for a few years. Sub-
sequent to his marriage, however, he resumed
farming in Bath township, where he remained
for two years, and in 1890 he purchased forty-
five acres where he now resides. This he be-
gan to develop and improve and as the years
have gone by and prosperity has attended his
efforts he has extended the boundaries of his
farm until he now owns one hundred and forty
acres all in one body. He likewise owns a
tract of twenty acres elsewhere. He has re-
cently completed an attractive residence, built in
modern style of architecture and tastefully
furnished. * In the rear is a good basement
barn and windpump, together with other equip-
ments which indicate the owner to be thor-
oughly in touch with modern business methods
along agricultural lines. The farm is well
fenced and divided into fields of convenient size
and there is an excellent orchard which yields
its fruits in season.
Mr. Smith was married in Bath township,
October 24, 1888, to Miss Nettie Harris, a
daughter of Abram Harris, who is mentioned
elsewhere in this volume. They have three sons,
Earl T., Ward A. and Hewitt M. Mr. Smith
holds membership in the Masonic lodge at
Laingsburg and has also taken the Royal Arch
degree, while both he and his wife are mem-
bers of the Eastern Star. His political al-
legiance is given to the democracy and he has
served as highway commissioner for two terms
and for a long period has been a member of
the school board, doing effective service in be-
half of public education. When he started out
in life for himself he was a poor man empty-
handed and without capital, but his own labor
and enterprise have stood him in place of in-
herited fortune or the assistance of influential
friends and he is now a prosperous agriculturist
of Victor township, whose good business ability
and successful accomplishment inspire the con-
fidence and awaken the admiration of all who
know aught of his business career.
CLARK A. PUTT.
Clark A. Putt, formerly identified with the
commercial interests of St. Johns and now fill-
ing the office of county clerk, is a native of
Tuscarawas county, Ohio, born January 12,
1866. His parents, Charles and Mary E.
( Shanower) Putt, were both of German lineage
and natives of Ohio. The father, now in the
railroad employ, became a resident of Green-
bush township, Clinton county, in 1877, and
settled upon a farm. Later, however, he en-
tered the service of the Toledo & Ann Arbor
Railway Company, with which he is still con-
nected. His wife is also living and they are
parents of two sons, the younger being Carlos
W. Putt, a practicing dentist of Bellaire,
Michigan.
Soon after the birth of Clark A. Putt his
parents removed to the state of Iowa, and when
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
55
he was eleven years of age took up their abode
upon a farm in Greenbush township, this
county. He was therefore reared in this part
of the state, spending his boyhood days in the
usual manner of farm lads who assist in the
labors of the fields when not occupied with the
duties of the schoolroom. His education was
completed in the high school of St. Johns. He
came to this city in 1884, and believing that
he would find commercial pursuits more con-
genial than agricultural life he turned his at-
tention to the grocery business, becoming a
clerk in the employ of Warren & Bundy, with
whom he continued in that capacity for three
years. In the meantime, through the careful
husbanding of his resources, he had acquired
capital sufficient to enable him to engage in
business on his own account and in 1887 he be-
came a grocer of St. Johns, forming a part-
nership with James B. Henderson under the
firm name of Henderson & Putt. That rela-
tion was maintained for three years, when the
firm of Putt & Davis was organized with
Robert Davis as the junior partner. These
gentlemen carried on business together until
1901, when Mr. Putt bought out his partner
and became sole proprietor. He added a stock
of shoes to his stock and carried on both de-
partments of the business until July, 1904,
when he retired.
In the meantime Mr. Putt had been a can-
didate for public office, being the choice of the
republican party for the position of county
clerk. He received no opposition at the pri-
maries and was elected by popular suffrage in
the fall of 1904. He succeeded Edward C.
McKee in that position January 1, 1905, and
has performed the duties of the office with the
same promptness, systematic methods and
fidelity which he manifested in the control of
his private business interests.
On the 14th of May, 1888, Mr. Putt was
united in marriage to Miss Linnie J. Eaegle,
a daughter of David L. Eaegle, of Greenbush
township. They have three children, Zelma,
Fennimore E. and Kathryn, and they also lost
two children in infancy. Mr. Putt is master
of St. Johns lodge, No. 105, A. F. & A. M.,
4
and has membership relations with the Wood-
men of the World, the Maccabees, the Modern
Woodmen of America and the Methodist
Episcopal church. In the field of political life
and commercial activity he has won local dis-
tinction and is to-day numbered among the
leading, influential and honored citizens of St.
Johns, where both his public and private career
have won him the deserved and unbounded con-
fidence of his fellowmen.
WILLIS McLOUTH.
Willis McLouth is one of the active and en-
terprising farmers, stock-raisers and capable
business men of Clinton county. He lives in
Dewitt and owns and operates one hundred
and sixty acres of land adjoining the village.
He was born in Riley township, this county,
September 30, 1856. His father, Newton Mc-
Louth, was born in New York state in 1826
and came to the west with his father, Squire
McLouth, about 1829 or 1830, the family home
being established in Lenawee county, where
Newton McLouth was reared to manhood.
He wedded Emily Hathaway and about 1852
they came to Clinton county, Mr. McLouth
purchasing a farm near Dewitt in Riley town-
ship. He then gave his attention to the further
cultivation and improvement of the place for
some time but eventually sold out and removed
to Dewitt township, where he bought a farm
which he cultivated for a number of years. He
then sold and bought where his son now re-
sides. He built a good residence, a substan-
tial barn and made other valuable improve-
ments and upon that farm he reared his family
and spent his last days, passing away in Janu-
ary, 1894. His wife still survives him.
Willis McLouth, the only son and his fa-
ther's heir, was reared upon the home farm,
acquired a common-school education and was
trained to all the labors that fall to the lot of
the agriculturist. He continued to work with
his father until the latter's death and in fact
some years before his demise had entire charge
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
of the home place. He has since bought an-
other farm in Dewitt township of one hundred
and seventy-two acres and has another tract
of one hundred and sixty acres which is well
improved but he now rents both of these farms,
giving his attention, however, to a property
of one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the
village. He is a partner here in a general mer-
cantile business, being associated with Homer
Brazee under the firm style of Brazee & Com-
pany.
In October, 1881, Mr. McLouth was mar-
ried to Miss Josie Holmes, a native of Clinton
county, who was reared and educated here and
further continued her school life in Lansing
subsequent to completing the high-school
course. She engaged in teaching for several
years prior to her marriage. Unto them have
been born two children : Florence Merle, who
is a graduate of Albion College; and Helen
Lueile.
Politically Mr. McLouth is independent,
casting his ballot for the candidates whom he
regards as best qualified for office. He was
elected and served as township clerk for two
terms and has also been township treasurer
and member of the school board at Dewitt.
His wife is a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church and he contributes to its support.
Fraternally he is connected with the blue lodge
of Masons, in which he has served as treasurer,
and both he and his wife are identified with
the Order of the Eastern Star. He is one of
the prosperous farmers of the county, a man
of good business ability, and is widely and fa-
vorably known in this section of the state.
JAMES HARVEY GUNNISON.
James Harvey Gunnison, interested in general
farming and stock-raising, his home being on
section 14, Dewitt township, and constituting a
well improved and valuable tract of land at Gun-
nisonville, is one of the native sons of Clinton
county and is said to have been the second
white child born within its borders. His birth
occurred May 21, 1837, and he is of the seventh
generation in direct descent from Hugh Gun-
nison, who was born in Sweden about 16.10 and
came to America prior to 1631, settling in New
Hampshire. He traces his ancestry from Hugh
through Elihu first, Elihu second, Joseph, Wil-
liam and Elihu, third, who was the father of our
subject. The grandfather had twenty-two chil-
dren. The father, Elihu Gunnison, was a na-
tive of New Hampshire and was born at New-
terry in 1803. He came to the west when a
young man during the territorial days of Michi-
gan and was married in Washtenaw county to
Ruth Anne Pryer, who was a native of Erie
county, New York, and a daughter of Hum-
phrey Pryer, whose birth occurred in England.
Following his marriage Elihu Gunnison
located in Livingston county, where he
opened up a farm upon which he re-
sided for a few years. In 1835 he
removed to Clinton county, where he entered
one hundred and sixty acres of land and took up
his abode thereon in the following year. No
roads had been laid out and he had to mark
trees to guide him on his way from Dewitt.
Soon the sound of his ax awakened the echoes
in the forest as one after another the trees fell
before his sturdy strokes. Thus he cleared the
land and built thereon a log house, in which
he resided for a number of years. Later he
bought more land until he owned about one
thousand acres and as time passed by he re-
placed his primitive pioneer buildings by mod-
ern and substantial structures and improvements,
becoming one of the prosperous, prominent, in-
fluential and well known farmers of the county.
Here he spent his remaining days, his labors
contributing in substantial measure to the wel-
fare and progress of this part of the state, and
he passed away on the old family homestead,
September 27, 1877, when seventy-four years
of age. His wife survived him for a number
of years and departed this life in 1895, at the
ripe old age of eighty years.
James H. Gunnison is one of a family of five
sons and three daughters, all of whom arrived
at years of maturity. He spent his youth upon
the old home farm, being reared amid pioneer
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JAMES H. GUNNISON.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
59
surroundings and was educated in the State
Normal School at Ypsilanti, in which he spent
three terms after completing his district-school
course. When he had arrived at mature years
he also spent two years in the Agricultural Col-
lege at Lansing and was thus well equipped for
life's practical and responsible duties, gaining in
the last named institution a knowledge of the
scientific methods of farming which have
proven of much value to him in his work. He
and his brothers and sisters have all been teach-
ers and thus have aided largely in the intellectual
development of the county. James H. Gunni-
son followed the teacher's profession in Illinois,
being employed for two terms near Galesburg,
and for several terms he was also a teacher in
this county. Subsequently he returned to the
farm, purchased the interest of the other heirs
in the old homestead and thus succeeded to its
ownership.
On the 29th of September, 1864, Mr. Gunni-
son was married to Miss Celia F. Southworth,
a native of Michigan, who died in 1888, leav-
ing a daughter. In 1893 in New Albany, Indi-
ana, Mr. Gunnison wedded Miss Catherine R.
Hutton, a niece of his first wife, and she was
born, reared and educated in New Albany and
became a teacher in a business college there.
There are two children by this union. The
daughter by the first marriage is Hallie C, now
the wife of Dr. Harry Gregory, of Newberry,
Luce county, Michigan. The two children of
the second marriage are Cleland J. and Vita K.
Mr. Gunnison took possession of the old
home farm in 1862. He has since erected a
substantial residence and a good barn with base-
ment, also other good outbuildings and now has
altogether a neat and well improved place. In
his political views he was formerly a democrat
but now votes with the prohibition party, being
a stanch advocate of the cause of temperance.
He was elected and served as commissioner of
highways and has been a delegate to the county
and state conventions of the democracy. He and
his wife hold membership in the Methodist
Episcopal church at Gunnisonville, in which he
has served as an officer, being president of the
board of trustees and also steward. He is a
member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliated
with the blue lodge at Lansing, and he is like-
wise a member of the Grange, in which he has
filled various offices. His worth is widely ac-
knowledged and his business and executive
force are the strong elements in what has
proved a successful career as an agriculturist.
WILLIAM J. WHITLOCK.
William J. Whitlock, who has made many
improvements upon his farm on section 28,
Greenbush township, where he owns and oper-
ates a valuable tract of one hundred acres, was
born on the adjoining section — 27, — April 28,
1849, his parents being Orange and Phebe
Ann (Hiscock) Whitlock. The father was a
native of Vermont and arrived in Clinton
county in 1838, at which time he purchased
from the government one hundred and sixty
acres of land on sections 27 and 28, Green-
bush township. No clearing had been made
in the township at that early date and Mr.
Whitlock maintained his residence in Ypsilanti
until 1847 Dllt devoted the winter months to
clearing away the timber and otherwise im-
proving the farm. In that year he took up
his abode upon his land, living in a log shanty
while he continued to clear and operate the
land. His nearest market was Owosso, to
which he traveled over roads so bad that it
was necessary at times for him to unload his
grain and carry it over the marshy places, after
which he would get his team and wagon over
and then load his grain again. When he even-
tually reached market he received but fifty
cents per bushel for his wheat and this sum
he found necessary to pay for provisions. In
fact many provisions were very high and he
gave from four to four and a half dollars per
barrel for salt. He owned one of the first span
of horses in the locality. He was very pros-
perous in all that he undertook, carrying on his
work along practical and progressive lines,
and he added to the original farm two tracts
of eighty acres each, both of which adjoined
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
the home place. He was a public-spirited man
and did much to open up the country, to build
roads and bridges, and otherwise carry for-
ward the work of general improvement. He
was elected to go before the state legislature
and ask for an appropriation for the state road
which is one mile west of his farm. In 1847
he was elected justice of the peace, which of-
fice he filled for fifty-one consecutive years
with the exception of one term. During that
time he married several couples who are now
numbered among the old residents of the
county. In 1845 Mr. Whitlock was united in
marriage to Miss Phebe Ann Hiscock, a
daughter of Isaac Hiscock, of Ypsilanti, and
a relative of United States Senator Hiscock of
New York. She belonged to one of the old
pioneer families of Washtenaw county and in
their later years her parents made their home
with her until their death, the father passing
away in 1849, while his wife died in 1867.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock were born three
children : Orange, who is living on section 22,
Greenbush township; William J.; and Mrs.
John Whitside, who is living on the old home-
stead. The father died April 7, 1895, and
thus was removed from the township a loyal
and much respected citizen. His wife passed
awray October 16, 1897.
William J. Whitlock was educated in the
district schools and has always lived on his
present farm, which is a part of the old home-
stead, with the exception of seven years, dur-
ing which time he resided in Bengal township
from 1883 until 1886 and then removed to St.
Johns, where he remained until 1890. In the
latter year he returned to the farm, where he
has since made many improvements in both
the erection of houses and also in the cultiva-
tion of the land.
Mr. Whitlock was first married December
18, 1879, to Miss Delia J. Kneeland, a daughter
of Benjamin Kneeland, of Bengal township.
Unto this marriage were born four children :
Althea, born September 29, t88o; Burt
K., born December 14, 1882; Earl O.,
born July 9, 1886; and Catherine, born Janu-
ary 16, 1889, all living with an uncle in Ben-
gal township. The wife and mother died De-
cember 12, 1890, and William J. Whitlock
was married, December 21, 1892, to Olive F.
Smiley, a daughter of Benjamin F. Smiley, of
Greenbush township, who was born in Ohio
but came to Clinton county in 188 1, settling
on his present farm, where he lived until his
death in September, 1895. He left a widow
and one son who are upon the old homestead
and his daughter, Mrs. Whitlock.
Like his father, William J. Whitlock has al-
ways taken an active and helpful interest in
public matters and was for two terms town-
ship constable and likewise a member of the
district school board of district No. 1 for three
years. He formerly belonged to the Keystone
Grange, of which he was master until the sur-
render of its charter. His brother, O. A.
Whitlock, has also been prominent in political
circles and in 1896 was chosen an elector to
the national democratic convention at St.
Louis, Missouri, where W. J. Bryan was nom-
inated for the presidency. Mr. Whitlock of
this review has fraternal relations with St.
Johns lodge, K. P., Loyal Guard lodge. No.
42, of St. Johns, of which he is recorder and
the Royal American lodge of St. Johns. He
has resided almost continuously throughout
his life upon the farm which is yet his home
and the splendid appearance of the property
indicates his careful supervision and well di-
rected labors.
ROBERT M. STEEL.
Robert M. Steel, deceased, is numbered
among the real promoters and upbuilders of the
commonwealth of Michigan. The growth of
a state depends not upon its machinery of
government nor upon its institutions, but
upon the character and labors of the
individual citizens and the sum total of
individual effort produces an effect that works
for good or ill in the locality. Robert M. Steel
wrought along modern business lines, becoming
one of the prominent railroad builders and con-
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ROBERT M. STEEL.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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tractors of the state and his work was of ut-
most value in the improvement and advance-
ment of Michigan.
Mr. Steel was of Scotch parentage, his direct
ancestors coming to America in 1830. They
settled in Vermont, where his father, William
Steel, engaged in contracting and building, and
it was in Craftsbury, that state, that Robert M.
Steel was born, October 21, 1833. He acquired
an academic education in Vermont, and after
having obtained a thorough training as carpen-
ter and joiner under the direction of his father,
he went to Toronto, Canada, at the time he at-
tained his majority and was employed as a time-
keeper on the Grand Trunk Railroad. Two
months later he was appointed foreman on the
part of the road being built between Toronto
and Sarnia, acting in that capacity for fifteen
months, on the expiration of which time he was
admitted to a partnership by his former em-
ployers, Messrs. Hayden & Ross, who had
taken a contract to lay the superstructure of
the Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad.
Accordingly in 1856 Mr. Steel removed to
St. Johns as the point most convenient in which
to carry on his operations, which contract was
completed in the fall of 1858. The next year
he took a contract for the building of the Grand
Trunk Railroad from Detroit to Port Huron
and at the same time was interested with W. A.
Steam & Company in the building of a rail-
road from Three Rivers, Canada, to Artha-
baska, a distance of thirty-eight miles, both con-
tracts being completed in December, 1859. In
September, 1862, Mr. Steel, with his former
partner, Mr. Ross, entered into a contract under
the firm name of Ross, Steel & Company to
build three hundred and sixty miles of the
Kansas Pacific Railroad. The firm had one
hundred miles erected and twenty-five miles
graded when the company disposed of its fran-
chise to Samuel Hallet and J. C. Fremont. Mr.
Steel then entered into partnership with Messrs.
Ellithorpe & Adams under the firm style of Elli-
thorpe, Adams & Steel and was engaged in
building bridges, etc., for the city of Leaven-
worth. He subsequently rebuilt the Hannibal
& St. Joseph Railroad, which work claimed his
attention until December, 1869. In 1867 he
had made an individual contract with James F.
Joy to build the accretions for the Union depot
for the Burlington & Missouri River and the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads, at
Burlington, Iowa. He completed this contract
in the fall of 1868, keeping a force of workmen
busy night and day. In 1870 he contracted for
the building of ninety miles of the St. Louis &
Southeastern Railway, which was completed in
November, 187 1, and the next January he se-
cured the contract for the building of the Cairo
& Vincennes Railroad through two counties, a
distance of one hundred and sixty-eight miles,
with its culverts and bridges — a work which he
completed within twelve months. In 1873 he
contracted to build the superstructure of forty
miles of the Paducah & Memphis Railroad,
which was completed in thirty-five days. In
May, 1875, George Mason, of Toronto,
Canada, made a contract for seventy miles of
railroad between the Great Western line of
Canada on the south and the Wellington, Grey
& Bruce Railroad on the north to be opened
for traffic the following January. Mr. Steel
became special contractor for thirty-five miles
of this line with fencing for the whole distance,
necessitating a post and board fence one hun-
dred and forty miles long. He completed his
contract, the work being pronounced satis-
factory in every particular to Mr. Masson, chief
engineer.
In addition to his extensive railroad contracts
Mr. Steel executed government work at Chi-
cago, Calumet, Ludington, Manistee and
Frankfort. He was the originator of the St.
Johns Manufacturing Company, its principal
stockholder, its president and one of its direct-
ors and he held the largest individual interests
in both the St. Johns National Bank and the
Clinton County Savings Bank, also of this city.
He was the president qi the Whipple Harrow
Company, of St. Johns, of the St. Johns
Evaporator & Produce Company, the Electric,
Light, Heat & Power Company and the Mutual
Gas Company, of St. Johns. He was a partner
in the retail furniture establishment conducted
under the name of R. M. Steel & Company and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
had an interest in the hardware firm of Nixon
& Company and in the millinery firm of J. T.
Cole & Company. He was president of the St.
Johns Mercantile Company, and in 1887 he
built the Steel Hotel in St. Johns at a cost of
sixty-five thousand dollars, one of the finest
hotel buildings in the state. He owned at one
time about a sixth of the town site and several
hundred acres of farm lands within the corpor-
ate limits of the city, together with farm lands
in different parts of the county and state. He
likewise had large interests in the west and in
1879 he began contracting on the coast and also
became a factor in the promotion and conduct
of various enterprises in that section of the
country. He owned a stock ranch in Oregon,
whereon he kept from eight hundred to one
thousand head of horses of imported and graded
stock. He also had an individual half town
site of Huntington, Oregon, and with his son
George wras largely interested in the Island
City Mercantile & Milling Company, together
with controlling interests in four or five stores
and two flouring mills. They laid off the town
site of Hilgard and established stores there. Mr.
Steel was interested in copper mines, in several
placer gold mines and in a large mining ditch
in Idaho. Pie became a stockholder in the
Merchants' National Bank at Portland and other
banks of the coast and was president of the
First National Bank in Island City, also the
Wallowa National Bank of Enterprise, and the
Lagrande National Bank at Lagrande, Oregon,
and the vice president of the First National
Bank at Union, Oregon. He had three thou-
sand acres of land in Gratiot county, Michigan,
and an equal amount in Isabella county. In ad-
dition to his extensive and important business
enterprises in this state already mentioned, he
was president of the First National Banks of
Ovid, Mount Pleasant, St. Louis and Ithaca,
and of the Mount Pleasant Manufacturing
Company and the Ithaca Milling Company.
Mr. Steel at one time was the wealthiest resi-
dent of Clinton county and was a man of very
benevolent, charitable spirit, a benefactor to
many movements for the betterment of the hard
conditions of human life. His memory will not
only be held sacred in St. Johns but through-
out the United States wherever he was known
for many years to come. Mr. Steel was a
Knight Templar of St. Johns commandery and
was a republican in his political views. He was
married, March 13, i860, to Miss Carrie A.
Hyatt, a daughter of James M. Hyatt, of New
York. For many years he was closely identified
with the history of St. Johns and of Clinton
county as a representative of many of its most
important business enterprises and various other
sections of the country felt the stimulus of his
enterprise and business capacity. He was a
man of keen discrimination and sound judg-
ment, and his executive ability and excellent
management formed the basis of a splendid
success.
GEORGE R. DOTY.
George R. Doty, now living a retired life, is
numbered with the old settlers of Michigan, for
he came to the state in 1844, locating in Living-
ston county only seven years after its admis-
sion into the Union. He has lived in Clinton
county since 1861 and has therefore for forty-
four years been a witness of the events which
have framed its history and has in a consider-
able degree aided in public progress and im-
provement. He came to Michigan from the
Empire state, his birth having there occurred
on the 30th of December, 182 1. His father,
Josiah Doty, was born November 18, 1792,
and was twice married, his second union being
with Chloe Rash, who became the mother of
our subject. In the state of New York George
R. Doty was reared, acquiring his education in
the common schools. He afterward learned
and followed the cooper's trade in Livingston
and Clinton counties of Michigan. He con-
tinued coopering until 1852, when he removed
from Livingston county to Mamasura Island in
Detroit river, where he was employed by the
government, acting in that capacity for about
nine years. In 186 1 he came to Clinton county,
wThere he established a cooper shop, carrying on
business for five or six years. He then bought
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
65
a lot and built the principal hotel of Elsie, after
which he opened it for business, conducting the
house for a number of years with excellent suc-
cess. He proved a popular landlord because
of his earnest desire to please his patrons and
the excellent entertainment which he afforded
to the traveling public. Since retiring from
the hotel he has engaged in no active business
pursuit but is now enjoying a well earned rest.
Mr. Doty was married in Ionia county,
Michigan, in 1845, to Miss Lydia A. Seeley,
who passed away on the 30th of April, 1905.
There had been three children born of that
marriage, of whom Chloe died at the age of
twelve years and Frank at the age of six
months. Charles Doty, living in Elsie, is mar-
ried and has two children, Eunice and Inez,
the latter now acting as her grandfather's
housekeeper.
In his political views Mr. Doty is a stanch
democrat, suporting the men and measures of
the party and always giving his allegiance to its
presidential candidates, save in 1872, when he
supported Horace Greeley. He was elected and
served for four years as justice of the peace,
has also been a member of the school board and
notary public for a number of years. While
acting in the first named position he performed
a number of marriage ceremonies. Mr. Doty
has led a useful life and is an honored citizen
of Clinton county. He is now far advanced on
life's journey, having passed the eighty-fourth
mile-stone and in a review of his history it will
be seen that he has displayed many sterling
traits of character worthy of commendation and
of emulation. His mind bears the impress of
many of the early historic events of the state,
for during more than six decades he has resided
within the borders of Michigan.
JOHN T. BECKETT.
John T. Beckett, living on section 27, Olive
township, has prospered in his farming under-
takings and entirely through his own efforts
has gained the property which he now pos-
sesses, owning and operating eighty-five acres
of land. He is a native of Oakland county,
Michigan, his birth having occurred in the
town of Pontiac on the 23d of July, 1859. His
father, Samuel Beckett, was born in Lincoln-
shire, England, in 1826, and the grandfather,
Thomas Beckett, was likewise a native of that
country, whence he emigrated to the new
world in 1842, establishing his home in the
state of NewT York. There Samuel Beckett
was reared to manhood and when a young man
he came west to Michigan, arriving in this
state about 1847. He located in Oakland
county, where he was afterward joined by his
mother and the other members of the family.
It was in that county that Samuel Beckett was
married to Miss Mary Ann Frank, a native of
Oakland county and a daughter of John
Frank, one of its early settlers. Having come
to the west from Vermont, Mr. Beckett be-
gan farming in Oakland county and there he
' reared his family, whereon he spent his remain-
ing days, his death occurring there in 1902.
His wife still survives him and now resides
with her son Fred H., who is married and
makes his home in Rochester, Michigan, where
he follows the trade of a carpenter and joiner.
John T. Beckett,, her other son, was reared
in the county of his nativity and is indebted to
the public-school system for the educational
privileges he enjoyed. He continued under
the parental roof until twenty-three years of
age, when in 1883 he came to Clinton county,
where he worked by the month for two years.
He was married here on the 20th of Novem-
ber, 1884, to Miss Anna Randall, a native of
Oakland county, in which locality she spent
her girlhood days. Her father, Joseph Ran-
dall, was a native of New York and one of the
early settlers of Oakland county, whence he
removed to Clinton county. Following his
marriage Mr. Beckett rented a farm for three
years and in t888 purchased the place upon
which he now resides, buying at first but forty
acres. He at once began tilling the soil and
otherwise improving the place and he built
thereon a good house and added many modern
equipments. He also extended the boundaries
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
of his farm as his financial resources increased
and owns eighty-five acres at the present time.
He has a windmill here and all modern ma-
chinery and in addition to the cultivation of the
soil he likewise raises good grades of stock.
He and his wife have two children: Viola B.,
the wife of Charles Taylor, a resident farmer
of Olive township; and Helen, who is a stu-
dent in St. Johns high school.
Politically Mr. Beckett is a stanch repub-
lican, having given his support to the party dur-
ing most of his life. He has been elected and
is now serving as township clerk, having filled
the office for six consecutive years and in 1905
he was re-elected. He has likewise served on
the school board and he is a Master Mason,
belonging to Dewitt lodge, No. 272, A. F. &
A. M., and to the Modern Woodmen camp,
while he and his wife are members of the Or-
der of the Eastern Star.
CAPTAIN A. S. HARRIS.
Captain A. S. Harris, living on section 9.
Lebanon township, is one of the honored
veterans of the Civil war, who when a call for
troops came manifested his loyalty to the Union
and joined the army in its defense. Fearlessly
he performed the duties assigned to him, return-
ing home with a creditable military record and
in all life's relations he has manifested the same
spirit of devotion to duty. His attention is
now given to farming operations and he owns
and cultivates two hundred and forty- four acres
of land in Lebanon township, the home place
comprising one hundred and twenty acres.
He dates his residence in the county from 1871.
His birth occurred in Vermont about twenty-
five miles north of Montpelier, on the 13th of
January, 1839. His father, James Harris, was
a native of New Hampshire and was there
reared, while in Massachusetts he wedded Miss
Charlotte Downer, whose birth occurred in the
old Bay state. Mr. Harris became a farmer of
Vermont and later followed mercantile pursuits
in Wayne and Monroe counties of New York.
Subsequently he came to Michigan, joining his
son Charles in Clinton county, and his last
years were passed here, his death occurring
about 1892. His wife survived him for a
number of years and died in 1902. In their
family were six children: Henry, the eldest,
was one of five brothers who enlisted and served
in the Civil war as defenders of the Union
cause, after which he married and settled upon
a farm but is now deceased; Charles resides in
Montcalm county, Michigan ; A. S. is the next
younger; Solon died in Wayne county, New
York, in 1904; Mrs. Frances Bishop, now a
widow, is living in Bloomer township, Mont-
calm county, Michigan; and Edgar, a promi-
nent farmer of Lebanon township, is residing
in Hubertson. He was a soldier of the Civil
war.
Captain Harris was reared in Wayne county,
New York, and is indebted to its public-school
system for the educational privileges he en-
joyed in his youth. He was a young man of
twenty-two years when on the 9th of Septem-
ber, 1861, in response to his county's call for
troops, he enlisted for three years' service as a
member of Company I, Ninety-eighth Volun-
teer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army
of the Potomac. He did active duty in the
Carolinas and a part of the time was under
George B. McClellan in the Peninsular cam-
paign. He enlisted as a private but was pro-
moted to the rank of sergeant and passed
through successive grades until he was com-
missioned captain. He took part in the bat-
tle of Williamsburg and later in the engage-
ments in the Peninsular campaign and arrived
at Richmond, thus taking part in many impor-
tant battles, including the one at Malvern Hill.
He was wounded at Fair Oaks and later in
front of Richmond but was not disabled. In
1863 he veteranized and then returned home
upon a thirty days furlough, rejoining his regi-
ment at Yorktown, Virginia. Subsequently he
participated in the battle of Bermuda Hundred
and others in that locality and later joined
General Grant at Cold Harbor, taking part in
the battle from the 1st to the 3d of June. Fol-
lowing the siege at Pittsburg and Richmond his
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CAPT. AND MRS. A. S. HARRIS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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brigade was the first to enter the latter city.
Fire had been started and the troops were set to
work to extinguish the flames and thus save
the city. Captain Harris served until the
close of the war and was mustered out at Rich-
mond, receiving an honorable discharge at
Albany, New York, in September, 1865. His
valor and meritorious conduct on the field of
battle had won him promotion and his own
bravery often inspired his men to deeds of valor.
When the country no longer needed his aid
Captain Harris returned to his home in Wayne
county, New York, where he began work on
the farm there. He was married in that county,
November 15, 1867, to Miss Louise Bishop, a
native of Wayne county, New York, who com-
pleted her education in the Walworth high
school. The young couple began their domestic
life upon a farm in Wayne county, which Cap-
tain Harris cultivated until 1871, when he sold
out and came to Michigan, purchasing one
hundred acres of land in Lebanon township,
Clinton county. This he began to clear and im-
prove and later he bought where he now resides.
He has fenced the fields, erected good buildings,
kept everything about the place in a state of
repair and is now one of the prosperous agri-
culturists of this part of the county.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Harris have been born
three children who are yet living: Fred N., a
substantial farmer of Lebanon township, who
is serving as township clerk; Eva, who was
formerly engaged in teaching and is now the
wife of John Crout, a business man of Battle
Creek, Michigan; and James Willard, who as-
sists in carrying on the home farm. They also
lost two sons : Frank, who was a business man
and was killed by the cars at Battle Creek,
Michigan; and Charles, who died in infancy.
Politically Captain Harris has been a life-
long republican and cast his first presidential
vote for Abraham Lincoln while serving in
the army. He was elected and served as super-
visor for one year, has been highway commis-
sioner and justice of the peace and has fre-
quently been chosen as a delegate to county and
state conventions. He is a member of Hub-
bardston post, G. A. R., of which he has served
as commander, and his wife is connected with
the Woman's Relief Corps. During thirty- four
years he has resided in Clinton county, being
thoroughly identified with its interests and in
sympathy with its progressive measures. He
made a creditable military record but it has
been no more creditable than his business career,
for at all times he has been straightforward and
honorable, never passing beyond the standard
of justice and right in his trade transactions.
JOHN KELLY.
John Kelly, one of the leading and influential
farmers of Bingham township, living on section
14, was born on the Isle of Man, May 20,
1834, his parents being William and Elizabeth
(Crelling) Kelly, both of whom were natives
of the Isle of Man. The father was a local
minister of the Wesleyan church on his native
isle, situated ninety miles from Ireland, while
the east end of the island is forty-two miles
from England and the north side sixteen miles
from Scotland. This island is about thirty-
two miles long and fourteen miles wide and its
population is sixty-five thousand. The father
rode on horseback to preach at his different
charges on Sunday morning. He was a very
earnest and able speaker and was considered
one of the brightest orators of his day. A man
of kind disposition, he was greatly beloved by
all his people and his death, which occurred on
the 4th of March, 1850, left a vacancy not
only in his place in the ministry but also in
the locality that it was difficult to fill. He had
spent his life there, his labors were interwoven
with the intellectual and moral development of
the people, and he had become endeared to all
who knew him. He left a widow and nine chil-
dren to mourn his loss. At one time he was
the owner of a place called Calf of Man, a
small island located about two miles from the
west end of the main island. His brother,
Henry Kelly, was inspector of police at Liver-
pool for thirty years and received a salary of
three thousand pounds per annum, this being
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
the highest office in the police department. He
was also police magistrate and when his de-
cision was given on any case there was no ap-
peal. His life was an example of justice and
peace and in all of his official service he was
strictly fair and impartial. His death occurred
in 1885 on the Isle of Man, where he was liv-
ing a quiet life after retiring from official
service. He was a prominent man of his day
and one who enjoyed in unqualified measure the
regard of his fellow citizens.
John Kelly had but two brothers who came
to this country. William, who crossed the At-
lantic in 1855, settled in New York state near
Rochester, where he passed away in 1857.
James came in 1862 and took up his abode near
Rochester, where he followed his trade of black-
smithing for a time but subsequently went to
the oil fields of Pennsylvania.
John Kelly was only six years of age when
his father died and he remained with his
mother until old enough to work and provide
for his own support, when he hired out to Mr.
Mylcherst on the Ballamoda farm, where he
worked for five years for his board and cloth-
ing. He then left the farm and spent the next
six years as an employe on dfferent farms by
the year and in that time he saved enough
money to bring him to America. In 1857 he
sailed for Canada but when four days out a
heavy storm struck the ship, which was
wrecked. After floating on the wreck for five
days, during which nearly all of the passengers
were drowned, the few survivors were picked
up by a ship from India, which took the pas-
sengers on board and then towed the wreck
into Plymouth, where the ship was rebuilt.
After seven weeks they again set sail and with-
out further mishap Mr. Kelly landed at Quebec,
where he at once began looking for work. He
was unsuccessful until he had traveled as far as
Cobourg, Ontario, where he obtained employ-
ment on a farm belonging to Mr. Doolittle. He
worked there for three years and during that
time was accorded the privilege of attending
school in the winter months. He then crossed
the line into the United States and found work
on a farm near Rochester, New York, where
his brother had been working at the time of his
death. John Kelly remained there until 1874,
working on surrounding farms for five years
and also being employed by the county on
ditch work, and then came to Clinton county,
Michigan.
When he had saved from his earnings a sum
sufficient to enable him to purchase land he
bought the Yakins farm on section 14, Bing-
ham township, in 1874. This was covered by
a dense growth of timber, there being not even
a road cut through to St. Johns but he at once
petitioned the county to open a road and was
given the contract to do the work. He cut the
road through from the county seat two miles
east, one mile north and a half mile south. It
was for sometime afterward called the Kelly
road but is now known as the Telephone road.
It was built different from many of the early
roads, being graded and built up with gravel,
so that it made an excellent highway. After
completing this road Mr. Kelly began to clear
his land and get it into proper condition for
farming. He built his residence, hauling the
stone used in the cellar walls from Shepards-
ville. At the end of four years he had cleared
seventy acres on the farm but he found that
the constant hardships he had endured were too
much for his constitution and his health was
breaking down. For two years he was unable
to do any kind of work and at one time it was
thought that he would never again take up
active business cares but he began to improve
and gradually recovered his former health, so
that now at the age of seventy-one years he is
well and active. He has added to his original
farm a tract of forty acres adjoining on the west
and has by earnest and indefatigable labor de-
veloped an excellent farm property, in the midst
of which stands a comfortable home wherein
he is spending the evening of life surrounded
by all of the necessities and many of the com-
forts that go to make life worth living.
Mr. Kelly was married on the Isle of Man,
March 9, 1864, to Miss Margaret Stowell, a
daughter of Thomas S. and Mary (Starkey)
Stowell of that place. Her parents were repre-
sentatives of old and prominent families on the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
7i
Isle of Man and are mentioned in its historical
records. Her father was a Wesleyan minister
and spent all of his life in active church work.
He was called upon to mourn the loss of his
wife in 1878 and he survived until 1891. He
left eight children, of whom five are still living
but only one, George Stowell, resides in this
country, his home being in Montana. The others
are: William O., a farmer on the Isle of Man;
Mylrea, who is living in the city of Douglas on
the Isle of Man; and Mary Ann in Laxa on
that island. Two other brothers came to
America but are now deceased. Thomas
Stowell arrived about 1870 and followed min-
ing at Galveston, Henry county, Illinois, where
he died about a year and a half later. Robert
S. crossed the Atlantic in 1879 and began min-
ing in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. After
traveling over nearly this entire continent he
purchased a farm in Montana but afterward
sold that property to his brother George, who
still owns it, while he went to Colorado, where
he died in 1895. George Stowell, who is now
on the farm in Montana, has taken an active
part in educational and church work since going
there and is a very highly respected and in-
fluential citizen.
In the maternal line the ancestry of Mrs.
Kelly can be traced somewhat farther back.
Her grandfather was a miller by trade and
made the first cart with spoked wheels on the
Isle of Man. When he became too old to en-
gage longer in the milling business he was ap-
pointed tax collector. A man of superior edu-
cation, he translated many manuscripts from
the Manx to the English language and was a
prominent factor in public life of his locality.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kelly have been born ten
children : William Thomas, a traveling sales-
man residing at St. Johns ; Mary E. and Louisa
J., who are clerking in St. Johns; George A.,
a mail carrier of that city; Margaret K., who
is a graduate of the Ypsilanti Normal School
and is teaching at Holland, Michigan; Henry,
at home; Alice, the wife of Louis Richard, of
Grandledge, who spent five years in teaching
prior to her marriage ; Carrie, who is a graduate
°f the St. Johns high school and is clerking in
5
that city; Mabel, who is also a graduate of the
high school of St. Johns and is at home; and
Robert J., who is a graduate of the high school
and is now in the office of J. L. Brown, an at-
torney of St. Johns. The parents are members
of St. Johns Methodist Episcopal church, to
which the children also belong, and two of the
daughters are now members of the choir of that
denomination in St. Johns. Mr. Kelly has
never had occasion to regret his determination
to seek a home in America, for he has here
found the business opportunities he sought and
which are always open to ambitious energetic
men. He has made the most of his oppor-
tunities and his labors have brought him a good
property.
THEODORE N. HENGESBACH.
Theodore N. Hengesbach, living in West-
phalia, was born in Westphalia township,
June 21, 1874, a son of Joseph and Mary E.
(Schaefer) Hengesbach, also natives of Michi-
gan. The father is a farmer and is now liv-
ing in Westphalia township, but his wife
passed away in 1895, at the a&e °f forty-five
years. He has led a quiet, unassuming life,
but is recognized as one of the enterprising
agriculturists of his township. In the family
were eight children, those still living being
John C., Theodore N., Joseph, Louis, Edward
C, Leo and Anna, the wife of Joseph A. Arens.
All are yet living in Westphalia township. Mr.
Hengesbach of this review began his educa-
tion in the public schools and between the ages
of seven and thirteen years attended the pa-
rochial schools, while later he continued his
studies in evening schools. He remained on
his father's farm until seventeen years of age
and then started out upon an independent busi-
ness career, first representing the Wolverine
Soap Company as a traveling salesman. In
January, 1898, he came to Westphalia, where
he has since been engaged in the retail liquor
business.
Mr. Hengesbach has extended his activity
to various lines. He has been corresponding
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
and recording secretary of the Arbeiter Un-
terstutzungs Verein, filling those positions for
five years and has been treasurer for two and
a half years. In politics he is a democrat, ac-
tive in the local ranks of his party and has
been a member of the democratic central
county committee. He has recognized ability
as a newspaper correspondent for the Portland
Review and in Westphalia he served as village
president in 1904, giving a public-spirited and
progressive administration. He has also been
school inspector for four years and the cause
of education finds in him a warm and helpful
friend. He belongs to St. Mary's Catholic
church and is thus actively interested in the
material, political, intellectual and moral prog-
ress of the village.
Mr. Hengesbach was married on the 10th of
May, 1898, to Miss Mathilda Arens, a daugh-
ter of Anthony and Theresa (Diebold) Arens,
and their children are Bertha M. E., Adelina
K. and Theodora M.
OLIVER B. CAMPBELL, M. D.
This is an age of specialization. It is the
unusual rather than the usual thing in this
period of the world's progress for a man to at-
tempt to familiarize himself to the greatest
extent with every department of a profession,
usually concentrating his energies upon one
special line and while Dr. Oliver B. Campbell
is recognized as a capable and successful gen-
eral physician he is still better known for his
ability as a surgeon, to which branch of the
science he has given close and discriminating
attention, while his practice in this profession
has called him to almost every town within a
radius of forty miles of his home.
He resides in Ovid and is a native of Buf-
falo, New York, where his birth occurred on
the 9th of May, 1852, his parents being Oliver
B. and Mary (Mills) Campbell. His father
was born in Buffalo, where he spent his boy-
hood days and after passing the competitive
state examination he was admitted to the State
Normal School, at Albany, from which he re-
ceived his teacher's certificate. He entered
upon the active work of his profession in Oak-
land county, Michigan, and was there married
to Miss Mary Mills, a daughter of Calvin and
Lovisa Mills, of Oakland county, but just
when a bright, happy future seemed within his
reach death claimed him and after a brief ill-
ness he left a young widow whose greatest sol-
ace proved to be her little son, to whom she
gave the name of Oliver B. Two and a half
years after his birth, however, she, too, passed
away and the little lad was left an orphan. He
was then taken to the home of his grandfather
Mills, in Clarkston, Michigan, where he spent
the days of his boyhood and youth.
At the usual age he began his education in
the village schools there and subsequently con-
tinued his studies in the high schools of Orton-
ville, Goodrich and Holly. When nineteen
years of age he entered the medical department
of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor,
from which he was graduated in 1875, and he
at once began the practice of medicine in Good-
rich, Genesee county, where he remained for
two years. He then came to Clinton county
and opened an office in the town of Ovid,
where he has since carried on a very success-
ful practice, specializing in surgery. He has
become recognized as one of the most eminent
and capable surgeons of this district and as
before stated his practice in this direction has
carried him into almost every city, town and
village within a radius of forty miles. In 1900,
in order to advance his proficiency, he pursued
a post-graduate course and received his degree
from the Chicago Clinical School. He is ac-
corded a prominent place in medical circles
in the county and state, as is indicated by the
fact that he was elected to the presidency of
the Clinton County Medical Society for three
years. He still holds membership therewith
and is also a member of the Michigan State
Medical Society and the American Medical
Association. In 1900 he was appointed lec-
turer of the Michigan State Medical Society
for the eighth district of Michigan and has
delivered lectures before the members of the
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DR. O. B. CAMPBELL.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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profession in Owosso, Saginaw and St. Johns.
During President Cleveland's administration
he was appointed pension examiner at Owosso,
which position he held for about twelve years.
He also served as railroad surgeon for about
twenty years.
In his political views Dr. Campbell has ever
been a stanch democrat and in 1902 he re-
ceived the delegation from the eighth congres-
sional district offering him the nomination for
congress which he declined, however, being
unable to spare the time from his large and
increasing practice, in which he takes a deep
interest and just pride, having a strong sense
of conscientious obligation regarding the re-
sponsibilities that devolve upon him in this
connection. He has, however, acted as vil-
lage officer for many years and he is a mem-
ber of Ovid lodge, No. 127, A. F. & A. M.,
and the Royal Arch chapter. He has not only
proved a successful physician but has also
displayed excellent business discernment in
other directions, having many paying interests
throughout the county and state. He is now
a member of the board of directors of the
State Savings Bank, at Ovid, is the senior
member of the banking firm of Campbell &
Steadman, of Elsie and of Banister, and owns
considerable real estate.
On the 20th of September, 1876, Dr. Camp-
bell was married to Miss Emma F. Pingree, a
daughter of the late Dr. Charles W. Pingree,
of Ovid, and a cousin of the late Governor
Pingree, of Detroit. Her parents came to
Clinton county in 1876, settling in Ovid, where
the Doctor continued his practice until his
death, when Dr. Campbell became his suc-
cessor, being at that time in partnership with
him. He left a widow, Mrs. A. O. Pingree,
and two children : Charles P. Pingree and
Mrs. Campbell. The former spent his boy-
hood days in Ovid and following his gradua-
tion from the high school of this place entered
the Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor,
in which he completed a course in the medical
and pharmacy departments. He then re-
ceived the appointment of professor of botany
and materia medica in the Massachusetts Col-
lege of Pharmacy at Boston and likewise the
appointment of professor of histology in the
Boston Dental School, which position he held
until his death. He left a widow and one son,
Charles O., of Boston. Mrs. Campbell is a
graduate of the Ovid high school and has ta-
ken a four years' course in the Chautauqua
Literary School and also the Bryant course.
She is a musician of more than ordinary ability,
having studied under her mother and some of
the best teachers in Detroit and is a valued
factor in musical circles throughout the
county, while both Dr. and Mrs. Campbell are
cordially received into the best social circles
where true worth and excellence are taken
as passports that gain entrance into good
society.
EDWARD J. MOINET.
Edward J. Moinet, whose natural aptitude for
the profession, laudable ambition and uncon-
querable determination give promise of a suc-
cessful career at the bar, is a native of Louis-
ville, Stark county, Ohio, born July 14, 1873.
His parents are Julian J. and Adeline (Sava-
geot) Moinet, natives of France and of Stark
county, Ohio, respectively. Both are still liv-
ing, their home being in St. Johns, Michigan.
Edward J. Moinet, the fourth in order of
birth in a family of six children, was a student
in the public schools of St. Johns and after
completing the high-school course entered
upon preparation for his chosen profession in
1893 as a student in the University of Michi-
gan, completing a course with the law class of
1895. He located for practice in Ithaca, Mich-
igan, in December of that year, remaining
there until January, 1899, when he came to St.
Johns, where he entered upon practice in June,
1 90 1, in partnership with Edwin H. Lyon, un-
der the firm style of Lyon & Moinet. They
have a large and desirable clientage connecting
them with much of the important litigation
tried in the courts of this district. Mr. Moinet
is very careful in the preparation of his cases
and his reputation as a lawyer has been won
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
through earnest, honest labor, his standing at
the bar being a merited tribute to his ability.
His careful preparation of cases is supple-
mented by strong argument and forceful pre-
sentation of his points in the courtroom, so
that he never fails to impress court or jury,
and seldom fails to gain the verdict desired.
Mr. Moinet is a republican in his political
affiliation, interested in the great questions af-
fecting the welfare of state and nation, and
well informed on the issues of the day. He
belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he
has attained the Knight Templar degree.
On the 30th of October, 1897, Mr. Moinet
was married to Miss Eda M. Steel, a daugh-
ter of George H. Steel, of St. Johns. Their
children are Alden Edward and Margaret Steel.
Mr. and Mrs. Moinet are well known in social
circles here and regarding his professional ca-
reer his acquaintances speak of him in favor-
able terms, recognizing that he has the ability
and ambition which will eventually win pro-
motions.
ROBERT HERBISON.
Robert Herbison, living on section 10, Bath
township, is classed with its prosperous agri-
culturists and his realty holdings are one hun-
dred and thirty acres. Moreover, he is one
of the old settlers of the state, having become
a resident of Michigan in 1846, while since
1867 he has lived in Clinton county. A native
of Ireland, his birth occurred in County An-
trim, near Belfast, May 10, 1842, and his fa-
ther, Joseph Herbison, was likewise a native of
the Emerald Isle but came of Scotch ancestry.
He was married, however, in Ireland to Miss
Hannah Hymen, who was of English lineage
and in the year 1844 he emigrated to the new
world, making his way direct to Lenawee
county, Michigan, where he bought one hun-
dred and sixty acres of land. That was in
the period of early development here and the
tract which he secured was in consequence en-
tirely wild and unimproved but he cleared
away the timber, turned the furrows, sowed
the seed and in due course of time gathered
harvests that proved the practical utility of his
labors. Upon the farm which he there opened
up and developed he spent his last years and
was survived for about four years by his wife.
They now rest side by side in Tecumseh ceme-
tery.
Robert Herbison was reared to manhood in
Lenawee county and helped to clear and carry
on the home farm. He had but little school
advantages and is almost wholly a self-edu-
cated man, while his business career entitles
him to the proud American term "a self-made
man/' He came to Clinton county in 1867 and
bought one hundred and twenty acres of raw
land upon which he now resides but the farm of
to-day bears little resemblance to the tract which
came into his possession almost forty years ago.
It is now well fenced and the fields are highly
cultivated, laden with ripening grain. Then
it was an unbroken forest, not a stick having
been cut nor had even a shanty been built
thereon but to-day there is a fine brick resi-
dence standing in the midst of a well kept lawn
and shaded by beautiful evergreen and other
ornamental trees, while shrubbery and flowers
adorn the place. There is a large basement
barn and other outbuildings and in fact none
of the equipments of a model farm are lack-
ing.
Robert Herbison came to Clinton county
with his brothers, Joseph and John Herbison,
and all settled here. In 1868 the first men-
tioned returned to Lenawee county and was
married there in the spring of 1869 to Miss
Ellen McCann, a lady of Scotch descent, who
was born in Tecumseh, Michigan. Following
their marriage he brought his bride to the home
which he had prepared and for a few years
they lived in true primitive pioneer style in a
log house, but while the young wife faithfully
performed the duties of the household Mr.
Herbison energetically carried on the farm
work, clearing the fields, building fences and
improving the property. As the years passed
by nine children, three sons and six daughters,
were added to the household, namely : Brant, a
machinist living in Lansing; Buford, at home;
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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Lewis, who is in the railroad service of the
Michigan Central Railroad Company; Han-
nah, who is engaged in the millinery business
in Lansing; Eleanor, the wife of Henry Luther,
of Kalamazoo, Michigan; Augusta, Irene and
Ethel, all at home; and Clara, wife of A. G.
Gardner, of Ovid.
In his political views Mr. Herbison has al-
ways been identified with the democracy and
cast his first presidential ballot for General
George B. McClellan in 1864. He has at
times, however, voted regardless of party ties
and his last presidential vote was given in sup-
port of Theodore Roosevelt. At local elec-
tions he never considers himself bound to party
ties, supporting then the candidates whom he
regards as best qualified for office. While he
and his wife are not members of any church
they attend and give their support to the Meth-
odist Episcopal church and Mr. Herbison is a
member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Bath, in
which he has filled all of the offices and is now
past grand. He has likewise been sent as a
delegate to the grand lodge of the state and
he and his wife are connected with the Re-
bekah degree and Mrs. Herbison has been its
delegate to the grand lodge. He is familiar
with the pioneer history of Michigan and what
to many is a matter of record is largely to him
a matter of experience or else as an interested
witness he has seen the events which have
marked its early progress and improvement.
WILLIAM H. LACY.
Farming interests in Victor township find a
worthy representative in William H. Lacy, who
lives on section 36. He owns two hundred
acres of richly productive land located within
two miles of Laingsburg, and in his farming
operations he finds ample opportunity for the
exercise of his native talents, his business affairs
being capably and successfully conducted. Mr.
Lacy was born in Oakland county, December
19, 185 1, and is a son of Henry C. Lacy, who
is mentioned on another page of this volume.
His youth was passed in Oakland, Shiawassee
and Clinton counties, accompanying his parents
on their various removals. His education was
largely acquired in the district schools and in
Laingsburg, and he remained with his father
until he had attained his majority, assisting him
in carrying on the work of the home farm.
Thinking to find another occupation more con-
genial and profitable he then engaged in the
manufacture of lumber and shingles, operating
a shinglemill in Lapeer county and later in
Lake county. He continued in the business
until the spring of 1880, turning his attention
to the further development and improvement
of this place. He met with success in his under-
takings and as his financial resources increased
he extended the boundaries of his farm by ad-
ditional purchase until he now owns two hun-
dred acres of good land which is arable and pro-
ductive. It is enclosed with a good fence and
the equipments of a model farm of the twentieth
century are all found here, including a pleasant
residence and good basement barn and outbuild-
ings for the shelter of grain and stock, and a
well kept orchard. He has ample house room
for binders, mowers and other farm machinery,
together with his wagons and buggies, and he
uses the latest improved farm implements to
facilitate the work of the fields and the care
of the crops. In addition to the raising of the
cereals he likewise raises good stock, making
a specialty of fine sheep of the black top and
Spanish Merino breeds. He has a flock of
seventy ewes and a pure blooded registered ram.
On the 30th of June, 1878, Mr. Lacy was
united in marriage in Lake county, Michigan,
to Miss Rebecca Brown, a native of Canada,
who was reared and educated, however, in Clin-
ton and Shiawassee counties, her father, James
Brown, having been one of the early settlers of
the county. They are both well known socially
and the hospitality of many of the best homes
of this part of the county is freely and cordially
extended them, while in their own home good
cheer abounds.
Politically Mr. Lacy is a republican at the
present time but was reared in the democratic
faith and cast his first ballot for Samuel J. Til-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
den. He, however, supported James A. Gar-
field for the presidency and has since been a
republican. He has never sought or desired
office, giving his time and attention to his busi-
ness affairs and other interests. He and his
wife attend the Congregational church and he
belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows and the Masonic lodge, both of Laings-
burg, while he and his wife affiliate with the
Eastern Star. He is a representative agri-
culturist of Clinton county and like many
others keeps his farm in excellent condition,
his buildings being well painted, the lawn neatly
trimmed, the fences kept in good repair, and in
fact everything about the place denotes his care,
activity and enterprising spirit.
MARVIN BABCOCK.
Marvin Babcock, who in the face of almost
unsurmountable difficulties attained success
that in view of the fact seemed almost phenome-
nal, was for many years a prominent and
honored citizen of St. Johns, where he died
June 28, 1898. He was born July 2, 18 17, and
was of English ancestry, belonging to a family
whose name was originally Badcock. His
father, Samuel Babcock, was a native of Wind-
ham county, Connecticut, born August 9, 1779,
and his mother, whose maiden name was
Clarissa Brown, was also a native of the Char-
ter Oak state and a cousin of Lorenzo Brown.
They were married September 8, 1800, and
eight children were born of the union, of whom
Marvin Babcock was the youngest, but all are
now deceased. The father was a merchant and
was one of the founders of Hampton, now called
Westmoreland, in Oneida county, New York.
When the war of 1812 was over, however,
prices diminished in all lines of business and
Mr. Babcock's failure resulted. The sheriff
sold everything he had and in accordance with
the laws of that day (which, viewed in the
present age of enlightenment, seem utterly pre-
posterous and unjust), put the debtor in jail
at Whitesboro. Not belonging to the criminal
class he was put "on the limits" with the
privilege of returning home Saturday night to
spend Sunday with his family, but he was not
privileged to have even a half day during the
week wherein to earn bread for his wife and
children. Mr. Babcock of this review fre-
quently related how, when only three years of
age, he would go with his mother to the jail
to see his father, who died in 1820 of quick
consumption after six months' confinement in
prison because of his debts.
Marvin Babcock was not a strong nor robust
lad but he resolved that he would not go to
the poorhouse and that earnest labor should give
him a good living. He had a capital of one
dollar and a quarter, which he invested in goods,
starting out as a peddler, and he continued in
that work until he had gained one hundred dol-
lars. He then took a deck passage from Buffalo
to Detroit and located in the township of Web-
ster, Washtenaw county, Michigan, where he
found a neighborhood of friendly people. He
purchased a tract of land in the midst of the
unbroken forest in 1837 and then, returning to
New York, he resumed business as a peddler.
In 1840 he started again to the west and pur-
chased a flock of sheep in Ohio, which he drove
to Washtenaw county, Michigan, probably the
first sheep ever brought to the county. In i860
he started for Texas with a drove of fine wool
sheep, one thousand in number, intending to
enter in the wool-growing business in that
state, but on account of the outbreak of the Civil
war he disposed of his sheep in Iowa and did
not go to the south.
When he ceased to engage in the peddling-
business Mr. Babcock sold goods at Albion and
at Otisco, this state, and subsequently engaged
in the conduct of a jewelry store at St. Johns
for a number of years. He was well fitted for
a mercantile line, having the qualities essential
to the successful merchant — the ability to recog-
nize the wants and wishes of his customers and
to handle all business interests with care and
precision. Whatever he undertook he carried
forward to successful completion, having a
strong purpose and unfaltering will combined
with good business judgment and keen sagacity.
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MRS. MARY W. BABCOCK.
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MARVIN BABCOCK.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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At the time of the gold excitement in Cali-
fornia Mr. Babcock became possessed of a
strong desire to try his fortune in the mines of
the Pacific coast and in 1852 went by the over-
land Fremont route to California. He dug
gold with his own hands to the value of sixty-
five cents and then became ill with ague. He
purchased twelve bottles of medicine at three
dollars per bottle, which largely exhausted his
capital and after remaining for four weeks on
the Pacific coast he returned home by way of
the Isthmus of Panama.
Mr. Babcock never belonged to any church
nor secret society save one and he ceased affilia-
tion with that after attending two meetings.
He was a Spiritualist and was widely known
on account of his opposition to the teaching of
religion in the public schools. He published a
number of tracts expressing his views on re-
ligion, one being especially notable — an open
letter to the St. Johns school board, in which
he protested against teaching sectarianism in
the public schools. This work was translated
into some languages of India under the auspices
of the Columbo Theosophical Society. One of
the thoughts which he advanced was that there
were over one thousand religions and that the
best one is that which has the most humanity,
that most loves justice, that has most respect
for good works rather than for faith and that
is possessed of a disposition to sometimes wil-
lingly make sacrifice for the sake of peace and
the gratification of others. Mr. Babcock's be-
lief was always for better religion, one that
tended to ameliorate the hard conditions of
mankind to bring peace and harmony between
man and his fellowman.
Mr. Babcock was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Knight, who was born October 17, 1822,
in Verona, Oneida county, New York. She
was the eldest daughter of Levi Knight, whose
ancestors were of English lineage and settled
in Windham county, Vermont. Her great-
grandfather, Jonathan Knight, was an officer
of the Revolutionary war. About the time of
the war of 18 12 his son Levi removed with his
family to Oneida county, where in 18 19 his
son, Levi Knight, Jr., was married to Mrs.
Catherine Sivers, nee Near. She was a daugh-
ter of Conrad Near, who was captured by the
Indians when a boy of ten years and was taken
to Quebec, where he was held until the close of
the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Babcock is the
eldest child of Levi and Catherine Knight
She early manifested a great love for books and
throughout her entire life has possessed the
same interest in study, reading extensively in a
wide range of literature. Her youthful school
days were marked by diligence, promptitude,
efficiency and love of system and a strong de-
sire for improvement. In 1835 her parents
came to Michigan, settling in Livingston
county, where there were no schools, so that she
was obliged to study by herself and her text-
books were very meager and of primitive char-
acter. When fifteen years of age she began
teaching and continued that work until the
death of her mother, when she assumed the re-
sponsibility of managing her father's house-
hold until he was married a second time. On
the 1 8th of March, 1841, she gave her hand in
marriage to Marvin Babcock, and they began
their domestic life upon a farm. Four children
were born of this union : Sarah Catherine, born
in 1842, is the wife of Dr. Stevenson, of
Morence, Michigan. Albert, born in 1844, died
in 1867. George M., born in 1850, died in
1853. Charles T., born September 28, 1859,
has been a trader among the Crow Indians in
Montana for twenty-two years. While on his
way to an Indian camp with two companions
during his first year in that state he got lost in
a blizzard and was out all night. When cross-
ing the Yellowstone river his horse broke
through the ice and in a drenched condition he
traveled twelve miles to a log cabin, his feet
being terribly frozen, which still causes him
much trouble. He was married June 22, 1887,
to Efifie Chandler, of Sharon Center, Ohio, and
they have one child, May E. Mr. and Mrs.
Babcock celebrated their golden wedding, thus
traveling life's journey together for a half cen-
tury, sharing with each other its joys and sor-
rows, its adversity and prosperity, their meas-
ure of love and confidence increasing as the
years went by.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Mr. Babcock spent the last years of his life
in St. Johns, giving his attention to the super-
vision of his invested interests which were the
outcome of his life of industry, perseverance
and business activity, and he certainly deserved
all the merit and praise that is implied in the
term — a self-made man. His was an eventful
career and in his travels throughout the coun-
try he learned much of his native land. Read-
ing kept him in touch with the trend of mod-
ern thought and he was a student of many of
the important questions which affect the weal
or woe of mankind. Since her husband's death
Mrs. Babcock has continued to reside in St.
Johns. She has been prominent in all literary
societies here and in many progressive move-
ments and still bears the distinction of being
an honored member and one of the founders of
the St. Johns Ladies' Library. She was one
of the promoters of the Ladies' Literary Society
of St. Johns, which was organized in her house,
was its president for fourteen years and is still
one of its executive committee. She has been
active in Chautauqua circles, in temperance and
in church work and aid societies. She finds one
of her chief sources of pleasure in her fine
library, which she has accumulated as the years
have gone by. She regards her books as among
her dearest friends and spends many pleasant
hours in the companionship of the choice minds
of the ages. She has one of the finest col-
lections of Indian curios in the state and has
a comprehensive knowledge of the tribes repre-
sented thereby. Her life has been filled with
many good deeds and both Mr. and Mrs. Bab-
cock have carved out for themselves a splendid
place in the world for with limited advantages
in youth they steadily progressed in that line
of life demanding strong intellectuality, laud-
able purpose and consecutive endeavor.
WILLIAM A. KROM.
Elsie has a good percentage of retired men —
men who once active in business life have ac-
cumulated therein a competence that now en-
ables them to rest in the enjoyment of a well
earned ease. To this class belongs Mr. Krom,
who for many years was prominent and influ-
ential in commercial and industrial circles en-
gaged in the manufacture of lumber and in
farming pursuits, which he followed in Gratiot
county. Since 1849 he has made his home in
Michigan, and his birth occurred in Orange
county, New York, August 14, 1835, so that
he was fourteen years of age when he came to
this state. His father was Andrew Krom,
who was born in Ulster county, New York, in
February, 18 13, and was a son of Henry
Krom, also a native of that county. He was
of Holland lineage and the great-grandfather
of our subject was one of the first settlers of
Ulster county. Andrew Krom there spent the
days of his boyhood and youth and after ar-
riving at years of maturity was married there
to Miss Hulda Skinner, a native of Orange
county, New York. He had learned the black-
smith's trade, which he followed in Orange
county until 1849, when, attracted by the op-
portunities of the great and growing west he
came to Michigan, settling first in Kalamazoo
county. Here he located on a farm and he
also engaged in the manufacture of lumber,
owning and operating a sawmill. He spent
his last years in Kalamazoo, where he died
about 1885. He was twice married, his first
wife passing away in 1854. William A. Krom
is one of four children, of whom three are yet
living, the others being : George, a farmer re-
siding in Gratiot county; and Mrs. James
Clarke, who is also living in Gratiot county.
The other member of the family was James
Krom, who grew to manhood and was mar-
ried, after which he took up his abode in Or-
ange county, New York, where his death oc-
curred.
William A. Krom came to Michigan with
his parents in 1849. He was reared in Kala-
mazoo and remained with his father until he
had attained his majority. He then went to
Gratiot county, where he took charge of his
father's lumber business, of which he ulti-
mately became the owner. He cut lumber and
was quite successful in the conduct of this en-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
85
terprise. His father owned twenty-two eighty-
acre tracts of timber land, covered with a very
dense growth of trees. From this land Mr.
Krom cut his timber for a number of years —
in fact cleared the entire land in this way. He
also began the development of a farm, clearing
two hundred acres in his homestead place. He
still owns this property, which is now a valu-
able and well improved tract of land, pleas-
antly located within four miles of Elsie. There
he carried on general farming for a number
of years, after which he bought a residence in
Elsie, where he now makes his home. In all
of his work he was practical, energetic and en-
terprising, carrying forward to successful com-
pletion whatever he undertook. As the years
passed by, owing to his excellent management
and unfaltering diligence, he accumulated a
handsome competence that now enables him to
live retired.
In Gratiot county, on the 12th of January,
1869, Mr- Krom was married to Miss Hettie
Oberlin, who was born in Lansing, Michigan,
and is a daughter of Allen Oberlin, one of the
first settlers of that city, who later removed
to Gratiot county. Mr. and Mrs. Krom be-
came the parents of two daughters: Julia A.,
who married William Snelling, cashier of the
Fowler Bank, and who died November 26,
1894; and Mary, wife of E. E. Snelling, a
farmer and business man of Elsie. Mr. Krom
was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife
in 1873, her death occurring in Ovid in De-
cember of that year, her remains being interred
in the Ovid cemetery.
In his political views Mr. Krom is a repub-
lican, having given earnest and unfaltering
support to the principles of the party since he
cast his first presidential ballot for John C.
Fremont in 1856. He has never failed to vote
at a presidential election and has been most
loyal to the principles which he believes con-
tain the best elements of good government. In
Gratiot county he served as township treas-
urer, filling the office for thirteen consecutive
years. He afterward removed to Ovid in or-
der that he might educate his daughters, spend-
ing two years in that place. Returning to his
farm, however, he was once more called to
public office, being again elected township
treasurer. He acted in that capacity until he
declined to serve longer. He was a delegate
to various state conventions and has aided in
nominating for a high office a number of the
distinguished men of the state. He is regarded
as a local political leader and in matters of citi-
zenship is always found progressive and public-
spirited. He belongs to the Masonic frater-
nity at Elsie, having been initiated into the
lodge here. Mr. Krom has led a life of intense
and well directed activity that has made him
a useful and prominent citizen. He took a
very active part in clearing the country of its
timber and making it suitable for cultivation
and his efforts have been far-reaching and ben-
eficial along many lines that have contributed
to the material, intellectual and political prog-
ress of this part of the state.
CLARENCE McFARREN.
Clarence McFarren, living on section ior
Bath township, was born in Washtenaw
county, Michigan, August 2, 1857. His father,
John McFarren, a pioneer resident of this state,
was a native of New York, born in Yates
county in 181 1, and there he was reared and
married. He wedded Miss Caroline Johnson,
likewise a native of that county, and in order to
provide for his wife and himself he followed
the carpenter's trade, which he had learned in
early life. In the year 1833, attracted by the
possibilities of the great and growing west, he
came to Michigan and was one of the first to
establish a home within the territory of Wash-
tenaw county. He found here large tracts of
land covered with the native forests and he
entered a claim from the government and be-
gan opening up a farm. He also conducted a
lumber business, the vast forests of this region
affording excellent opportunities to the lumber
manufacturer and Mr. McFarren owned and
operated a sawmill. He reared his family in
Washtenaw county and then in 1858 removed
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
to Shiawassee county, where he bought one
hundred and sixty acres of land and began im-
proving a farm. Still later he sold that property
and took up his abode in Bath township, Clinton
county, on the place where his son Clarence
now resides. He spent his last days here, pass-
ing away in 1888, while his wife survived him
until 1889, when she was laid to rest by his
side in Rose cemetery. In their family were
nine children, three sons and six daughters, of
whom the sons and three daughters are yet
living.
Clarence McFarren was a youth of thirteen
years when his parents located upon this farm.
He is indebted to the public-school system of
Michigan for the educational privileges he en-
joyed. In this county he attended district
school No. to and through the periods of vaca-
tion he was actively engaged in assisting his
father in the farm work and later he cared for
his parents in their declining years. Succeed-
ing to the ownership of the old homestead
property he has further continued the work of
development and improvement and now has a
splendid farm, on which he has erected a two-
story brick residence that is one of the pleasant
features of the landscape. He has also built a
big basement barn and has fenced his place, also
divided it into fields of convenient size in this
manner. An orchard of his own planting yields
its fruits in season and the fields return him
rich harvests. Year after year he has prospered
and yet his work has not been without its draw-
backs and difficulties, for in 1901 he had a
large barn destroyed by fire. However, he has
since built a better one with a basement. He
owns ninety acres of land with forty acres in
the home place.
On the 22d of July, 1882, in Bath township,
Mr. McFarren was united in marriage to Miss
Ida M. Thompson, a native of Michigan, her
birth having occurred in Bath township, Clinton
county. Her father, Wilbur Thompson, is one
of the old settlers of the state, coming from
Pennsylvania to Michigan and on another page
of this work more extended mention is made
of him. One child has been born unto Mr. and
Mrs. McFarren, Wendell, a young man, who
assists in the improvement of the home property.
Politically Mr. McFarren is independent,
supporting men and measures rather than party,
and while he has never cared for office he has
served as highway commissioner for two years
and has for twenty years been a member of
the school board, during which time he has
done effective service for the cause of education,
which finds in him a warm friend. He believes
in the employment of good teachers and in con-
tinually raising the standard of the schools and
he is now chairman of the board. He has
membership relations with the Maccabees and
is known as one of the representative citizens
of the community, having lived in the county
from his youth to the present time, during which
time he has closely adhered to a high standard
of ethics, living at peace with his fellowmen,
treating all honorably and fairly in business re-
lations and proving loyal to the ties of friend-
ship.
JOHN T. ABBOTT, M. D.
Dr. John T. Abbott, who since 1875 has en-
gaged in the practice of medicine in Ovid, was
born in Devonshire, England, February 21,
1839, his parents being John and Mary Abbott,
also natives of England. He began his educa-
tion in the schools of his native land and when
a young man of eighteen years came to America,
sailing up the river St. Lawrence to Lake On-
tario, landing at Port Hope. He continued his
journey by rail as far as the Port Hope &
Lindsay Railroad was completed and this took
him into the midst of a thickly wooded coun-
try, where he had to hire a team to complete
the journey to the village of Omemee, There
he again had to hire teams to drive him into
Mariposa township, Victoria county, which was
his destination. Securing employment as a farm
hand, he there remained for about four years
and during the last three years of the time he
also attended the Oakwood high school, from
which he was graduated in 1861. After pass-
ing the county examination he began teaching
and after one and a half years he entered the
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DR. J. T. ABBOTT.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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Toronto Normal School, from which he was
graduated in the junior division in 1864 and m
the senior division in June, 1865. In that year
he accepted a position in a Walkerville school
and finished the last half of the year 1865. He
then again returned east and for four years was
engaged in teaching in Haldimand county, On-
tario. On the expiration of that period he
entered the Victoria University at Toronto to
study medicine and was graduated in 1872.
Through the succeeding two years he was in
Toronto General Hospital and he thereby added
to his theoretical knowledge the experiences of
a broad, general hospital practice. Determin-
ing to remove to the United States he came to
Clinton county in 1875, settling in Ovid, where
he has since made his home.
Dr. Abbott was married July 12, 1879, to
Miss Clara B. Harrington, a daughter of the
late De Witt C. Harrington, of Ovid, and they
have three children, Anna, Grace and John.
The daughters are attending the Ypsilanti Nor-
mal School and in addition to the regular course
Grace has completed a course in music and is
an accomplished pianist. She is now teaching
music at Dearborn, Michigan, and is also tak-
ing instruction on the pipe organ and in vocal
music. Mrs. Abbott's parents were natives of
New York state and were among the early
settlers of Michigan, both the father and mother
coming with their respective parents to this
state when children, settling in Oakland county,
near New Hudson. After their marriage they
removed to Shiawassee county, where they re-
sided on a farm for a number of years but sub-
sequently they took up their abode in Ovid,
Clinton • county, where the father died, leaving
a widow and four children, of whom three
daughters yet survive, namely: Mrs. J. T.
Abbott, with whom the mother resided until
called to her final rest; Mrs. Cornelia Hutchins,
of Ovid; and Mrs. Edward Conant, of Owosso.
Mrs. Abbott is among the earnest church work-
ers of the Methodist denomination at Ovid and
does all in her power to promote the growth and
insure the success of the church. She has been
matron of the Eastern Star lodge and a promi-
nent worker in the order.
Dr. Abbott holds membership in Ovid lodge,
No. 27, A. F. & A. M. ; Ovid chapter, R. A.
M.; St. Johns commandery, K. T.; and Ovid
court, A. O. U. W., of which he is court ex-
aminer. He has been a member of the com-
mandery for over twenty years. During his
residence in this county he has gained and re-
tained a prominent place in professional circles
accorded him by reason of his skill and pro-
ficiency as a medical and surgical practitioner.
He has very closely adhered to a high standard
of professional ethics and his growing practice
is an indication of the trust reposed in him by
the community at large.
HENRY E. WALBRIDGE.
Henry E. Walbridge is a representative of
a family whose history is one of close connec-
tion with the annals of the Clinton county bar
and who because of research and provident care
in the preparation of his cases has gained a
position of distinction as a practitioner in St.
Johns. He is a native of Glover, Vermont,
born March 31, 1850, and was only about two
years old when brought to Michigan by his
parents, Captain Henry and Zilpah (Allen)
Walbridge, of whom personal mention is made
on another page of this volume. His father
was a leading lawyer of central Michigan and
his mother, a native of Vermont, belonged to
the same family of which General Ethan Allen,
the hero of Ticonderoga, was a member. Of
the three surviving members of the family of
Captain Henry Walbridge, Henry E, of this
review is the eldest. His brother, Edward L.,
is also a practicing attorney of St. Johns, while
the sister, Mrs. Ella De May, is living in Jack-
son, Michigan.
The early boyhood days of Henry E. Wal-
bridge were spent in Saline, Michigan, and
when five years of age he came with the family
to St. Johns, where he pursued his early educa-
tion in the Union school and in St. Johns high
school. Having prepared for college, at the
age of seventeen he matriculated in Olivet Col-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
lege, where he pursued a scientific course, and
then entered upon the study of law in the office
and under the direction of his father, being thus
truly favored in his tutelage. The week after
attaining his majority he was admitted to the
bar and also to a partnership with his father,
a relation which continued until his father re-
moved to Ithaca, Michigan, in 1890. The son
at that time entered into partnership with
General O. L. Spaulding, but at the expiration
of two years the relationship was discontinued
and Mr. Walbridge practiced alone until May,
1893, when he became associated with J. H.
Federoa, with whom he continued until the lat-
ter's death in January, 1901. He then formed
a partnership with his brother, Edward L. Wal-
bridge, but in May, 1905, the business relation
between them was discontinued and they are
both practicing alone in St. Johns.
In 1872 Henry E. Walbridge was elected cir-
cuit court commissioner, which position he filled
for six years. He has been retained either as
counsel for the prosecution or defense m nu-
merous important cases tried in the supreme
court and has won almost every case through
the carefulness and thoroughness of his prepar-
ation to facilitate his strength in argument and
his thorough familiarity with the principles ot
jurisprudence. He stands among the men who
are in the front rank of professional progress.
He is widely known in the legal fraternity
through his agency in establishing the law in
Michigan upon many points, reaching many de-
cisions which have served as precedence. He
practices in the courts of Clinton and all ad-
joining counties and has a distinctively repre-
sentative clientage. At no time has his reading
ever been confined to the limitations of the
questions at issue; it has gone beyond and com-
passed every contingency and provided not alone
for the expected but for the unexpected, which
happens in the courts quite as frequently as out
of them. He is now a member of the State
Bar Association.
Mr Walbridge is an enthusiastic republican,
active and courageous in support of the party
principles yet having no desire for political
preferment as he wishes to concentrate his
energies upon his professional duties. He,
however, is interested in all matters of local and
public progress and has been especially helpful
in movements for the benefit and upbuilding of
St. Johns.
On the 18th of October, 1896, Mr. Wal-
bridge was married to Miss Jessie Smead Cald-
well, of St. Johns. By a previous marriage he
has two daughters, Neva T. and Mabel S.
Especially modest in his bearing and considerate
of others, there is, however, no vacillating in
his adherence to a cause to which he gives his
support or a principle in which he believes.
His acquaintance in St. Johns is wide and
favorable and his position in legal circles is
the ultimate result of his capability in the line
of his chosen profession.
ALBERT L. VAN SICKLE.
Thoroughly progressive and modern in all his
methods of farming Albert L. Van Sickle is
successfully conducting his home place of one
hundred and seventy-four acres which lies par-
tially in Clinton and partially in Gratiot county
within two miles of Maple Rapids. He was
born in Essex township, Clinton county, Octo-
ber 2, 1862. His paternal grandfather was
Cornelius Van Sickle, who became an early set-
tler of Ohio, whence he afterward removed to^
Michigan, casting in his lot with the pioneers of
Clinton county. He established his home in the
town of Essex and met the usual experiences
and hardships of life on the frontier but aided
in laying broad and deep the foundation for the
present prosperity and progress of the county.
His son, Lyman Van Sickle, was born in Ohk>
in 1834 and was reared to manhood in this
county amid frontier environments. He wedded
Miss Martha McPherson, who was born in
Ohio and came to Michigan with her father,
Stephen McPherson, who was another of the
old settlers of Michigan, living in Essex town-
ship. Lyman Van Sickle became a farmer of
Essex township and there devoted his energies
to agricultural pursuits until 1861, when he-
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A. L. VAN SICKLE AND FAMILY.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
93
joined Company G, of the Fifth Michigan Cav-
alry. He was taken prisoner at the battle of
Gettysburg and incarcerated at Andersonville,
where he died on the 31st of August, 1863. His
wife survived him and reared their family,
doing a mother's full duty toward the little ones
left to her care.
Albert L. Van Sickle was only about a year
old at the time of his father's death. He spent
his youth in Essex township and was educated
in the schools of Maple Rapids. Later he be-
came identified with commercial interests in the
village, conducting a general store and later a
hardware business. Subsequently he sold out
and took up his abode upon a farm but after-
ward again embarked in general merchandising
and was thus connected with commercial in-
terests in Maple Rapids for seven years. On
again disposing of his stock of goods he located
on his farm and now gives his time and atten-
tion to general agricultural pursuits and stock-
raising. He now owns one hundred and
seventy-four acres of land lying partially in
Clinton and partially in Gratiot county and con-
stituting a very valuable and productive farm,
which in its neat and thrifty appearance indi-
cates his careful supervision and practical
methods.
Mr. Van Sickle was married in Maple Rapids,
in 1885, to Miss Fannie £. Moss, who was
born and reared in this county, pursuing her
education in the schools of Maple Rapids, after
which she engaged in teaching prior to her mar-
riage. Her father, Hiram L. Moss, was an-
other worthy pioneer settler of the county. Mr.
and Mrs. Van Sickle have become the parents
of eight children, Inez, Moss, Glen, Hazel,
Harry, Paul, Florence and Gerald.
Mr. Van Sickle votes with the democratic
party where national issues are involved but
wisely disregards party ties at local elections
wThere there is no political issue before the peo-
ple and only the capability of the candidate
should be considered. He believes in good
schools and the employment of competent teach-
ers and is now serving for the second term as
a member of the school board. He belongs to
the Knights of the Maccabees, a fraternal insur-
ance organization, and also carries insurance in
some of the old-line companies. He is a man
of good business ability, active, diligent and
prosperous, and has always been connected with
Clinton county and its people so that his life
history is well known to his fellow townsmen
and that he has made a creditable record is indi-
cated by the fact that many of his stanchest
friends are those who have known him from his
boyhood to the present time.
LEVI P. PARTLOW.
Levi P. Partlow is one of the native sons of
Clinton county who has demonstrated the pos-
sibility for successful achievement along agri-
cultural lines. He resides on section 32, Eagle
township, where he has valuable property inter-
ests, his farm returning to him a very gratify-
ing annual income. He was born upon this
farm July 26, 1846, his parents being Palmer
and Eliza (Sanders) Partlow, both of whom
were natives of St. Lawrence county, New
York. The paternal grandfather, Ransom
Partlow, was a native of Scotland, and died in
St. Lawrence county, while the maternal grand-
father, David Sanders, was born in the Empire
state. Pie followed the lumber business there
and afterward in Gratiot county, Michigan.
Subsequent to their marriage Mr. and Mrs.
Palmer Partlow came to Clinton county, Michi-
gan, and settled on the farm now owned by
their son Levi. The tract of land was wild
when it came into their possession and the
father cut the first stick of timber there in
1840. His remaining days were passed upon
this place and he performed a helpful part in
the work of early progress and improvement, re-
claiming the wild land for the purposes of
civilization. He was also active in public affairs,
and took the contract for carrying the United
States mail. He was a devoted member and
active worker of the Methodist Episcopal
church and was prominent in all that pertained
to the material, intellectual and moral progress
of his community. In connection with his farm-
ing interests he operated a threshing machine
for some years and he was classed with the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
sturdy pioneer settlers through whose efforts
was laid broad and deep the foundation upon
which has been built the superstructure of the
county's present prosperity and progress. He
was in limited financial circumstances when he
came to the west but as the years passed by he
prospered in his undertakings and as his means
permitted he displayed a very benevolent and
charitable spirit, the poor and needy finding in
him a warm friend. He was also well liked,
was popular with his fellow townsmen and
made a most honorable record so that he left his
family the priceless heritage of an untarnished
name. He died in 1884, at the age of eighty
years, while his wife passed away in 1894, at
the age of seventy-nine years. In their family
were six children, of whom 'Levi P. is the
youngest and only one other, John, of Eagle
township, is now living. Those deceased are :
Samantha, who was the wife of Matthew
Davenport, of Eagle township; Maranda, the
wife of James Dewitt, of Eagle township;
Almond, who died in the village of Eagle in
July, 1903; and Jonathan, a twin brother, of
John, who died at the age of eight years.
Levi P. Partlow pursued his education in a
select school conducted by J. V. Jones and also
in the local district schools. He has always
resided upon the old homestead farm. His
father first settled here on twenty-two and a
half acres of land but increased his holdings
until he had nearly three hundred acres, which
is the present extent of the farm. When
eighteen years of age Levi P. Partlow took
charge of the home place because of his father's
ill health, first operating it on the shares but
eventually he became the owner and now con-
tinues the cultivation and improvement of the
property which is to-day one of the finest farms
in Clinton county. He built a modern brick
residence in 1900, having all the conveniences
of a city home, this replacing his farm residence,
which was destroyed by fire. The barns and
other outbuildings are thoroughly modern and
are commodious, furnishing ample shelter for
grain and stock. Mr. Partlow is one of the
few native sons who desire to cling to his na-
tive heath instead of seeking the seeming
changes of the outside world, and his choice
was a wise one, for in the control of his farm-
ing interests here he has won success, gaining
a very desirable competency. He was also en-
abled to care for his parents until the close of
their lives, which gave to him much satisfaction
in the discharge of this duty. He has always
taken a deep and helpful interest in matters per-
taining to the general welfare and in 1900 he
served as chairman of the building committee
at the time of the erection of the new brick
Methodist Episcopal church in his neighbor-
hood. It is a fine structure for a country
church and is known as the Union Cemetery
church. Mr. Partlow also takes pride in the
improvement of Union Cemetery, which was
established by his father and neighbors when
the land throughout this territory was wild and
unimproved. Whatever pertains to the general
welfare or upbuilding elicits his attention and
support and he has co-operated in many pro-
gressive public measures.
His activity in political circles has also been
beneficial. He was the first postmaster of the
River Bend postoffice, established on his farm,
appointed under Randolph Strickland during
President Grant's administration. He acted in
that capacity for twelve years or until the post-
office was discontinued on account of change
in route. He has also been justice of the peace
for several terms, a member of the board of
review and highway commissioner, but still
greater political honors have been conferred
upon him for in 1903 he was elected to repre-
sent Clinton county in the state legislature and
was re-elected in 1904. In the first year he re-
ceived a majority of six hundred and fifty and
the second year of fourteen hundred — a fact
which is indicative of his personal popularity,
the confidence reposed in him by his fellow
townsmen and his fidelity to duty. He proved
an active working member of the house, being
connected with considerable constructive legis-
lature and he introduced and supported a num-
ber of important bills there which were carried
through successfully.
On the nth of August, 1867, Mr. Partlow
was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Blasier,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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a daughter of Peter and Phoebe (Johnson)
Blasier, of Oneida township, Eaton county,
Michigan. Her father, as well as Mr. Part-
low's father, was among the first settlers of
the locality and they were great friends. The
children of this marriage are as follows : Levi
Blaiser Partlow, living on the home farm,
wedded Mary Stokes, a daughter of David
Stokes, of Eaton county. Parmie died at the
age of eight years. After the death of Parmie
a little girl was taken in the home, Annie
Tillman, who is now the wife of Charles Rath-
foot, and they have two children, Harold and
Dorothea.
Mr. Partlow is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church and also of the Masonic fra-
ternity. He is a stalwart and unflagging cham-
pion of temperance principles and belongs to the
Independent Order of Good Templars. His
position on this question is never an equivocal
one for he stands strong in support of the tem-
perance movement and is opposed to the liquor
traffic. All who know him respect him for
his fidelity to his honest convictions and he is
to-day one of the prominent and distinguished
residents of Clinton county, whose public record
has been of value to the county which has
honored him by high political preferment.
HOMER BRAZEE.
It is a noticeable fact that the successful men
of the day are those to whom satiety ever lies
in the future and to whom ambition continu-
ally points out the way for further accomplish-
ment. A representative of this class of men is
found in Homer Brazee, one of the successful
merchants of Dewitt, who for thirteen years has
conducted a general store in this village. He
is a native of Barry county, Michigan, born
June 27, 1866, and is a son of Henry Brazee,
who was born in New York, while his father,
John Brazee, was a native of France. The
great-grandfather, John Brazee, Sr., was like-
wise born in France and became a sailor,
eventually serving in the United States navy in
the war of the Revolution. Subsequently he
settled in New York, becoming a loyal citizen
of the new republic.
John Brazee, Jr., was one of the first settlers
of Lenawee county, Michigan, where Henry
Brazee was born and reared. After reaching
adult age he married Maria McConnell, who
is likewise a native of Lenawee county and the
young couple began their domestic life upon
a farm, which he owned and operated in Adams
township. There he reared his family and
spent his life, passing away in August, 1899.
His widow still survives and now lives with a
daughter at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Homer
Brazee is one of a family of two sons and five
daughters. His brother Mark is a farmer of
Wayne county, while his sister Ida is the wife
of Albert Marsh, of Adrian, Michigan, and
Emma is the wife of Alonzo Jones; of Wash-
ington, D. C. Bertha, Ella and Maude reside
with their mother in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Upon his father's farm in Lenawee county
Homer Brazee spent the days of his boyhood
and youth, early becoming familiar with all
the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the
agriculturist. He acquired his education at
Adrian high school and when a young man
entered a flouring mill, in which he learned the
trade. He was subsequently employed in the
Adrian mills for ten years, on the expiration of
which period he came to Dewitt, where for six
years he was in charge of the rolling mills.
Forming a partnership with Willis McLouth,
he next opened a grocery store and they have
since built up a good business, extending the
field of their operations by adding a stock
of general merchandise. They have now se-
cured a liberal patronage and have gained a
most commendable reputation for fair dealing
as well as for the excellent line which they
carry. Mr. Brazee is active manager of the
store and its success is attributable in large
measure to his enterprise, keen discernment and
watchfulness of opportunities.
On the 1st of June, 1893, in Adrian Mr.
Brazee was married to Miss Carrie Brush, a
native of Lenawee county,, who was reared and
educated in Adrian. He belongs to the Masonic
fraternity, having attained the Master Mason's
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
degree in blue lodge at Dewitt, while he and
his wife are affiliated with the Eastern Star
here. His entire life has been passed in Michi-
gan and for fifteen years he has lived in Clin-
ton county. He is wrell known in St. Johns
and Lansing and throughout this part of Clinton
county and is a representative business man,
alert, energetic and determined in all that he
does.
GEORGE W. EMMONS.
George W. Emmons, who bears the distinc-
tion of having been the first settler within what
is now the corporate limits of St. Johns and
who is a self-made man, obtaining a comfort-
able competence through honorable methods and
unflagging diligence, was born in Seneca county,
New York, September 12, 1823. His parents
were Phelanous and Susan Emmons, the for-
mer a native of Pennsylvania and the latter
of New York. Little is known concerning the
ancestral history of the family. The father died
in the Empire state at the age of fifty years,
after which the mother came to Michigan, and
for twenty years prior to her death resided in
Bingham township, at the home of her son
George W., departing this life April 9, 1890,
at the very advanced age of ninety-five years.
The early youth of George W. Emmons was
a period of earnest and unremitting toil. When
thirteen years of age he was bound out to
George Rogers, of Oakland county, with whom
he remained until at the age of twenty-one
years. He worked for him constantly during
all of that time and when he had obtained his
majority Mr. Rogers gave Mr. Emmons eighty
acres of land where St. Johns now stands. He
at once began clearing and improving this tract,
from which he cut cord wood and from its sale
and through other means he managed to save
about fifty dollars per year until he had earned
enough to purchase forty acres more. Again he
began saving and when he had accumulated a
sufficient amount he once more added a forty-
acre tract to his land so that his farm was one
hundred and sixty acres in extent. It was en-
tirely covered with timber when it came into
his possession but it is now one of the most
highly cultivated tracts of land in Clinton
county. Over one-half of this is within the city
limits of St. Johns and has been sold off in acre
lots. The remainder is under a very high state
of cultivation. Every acre but twenty was
cleared of the timber and transformed into a
cultivable tract from which annually rich har-
vests were gathered in reward for the care and
labor which Mr. Emmons bestowed upon his
fields. He has been a careful and painstaking
man, avoiding debt, following honorable prin-
ciples, and his accumulations have grown under
careful management and the husbanding of his
resources. Fortune in the way of good crops
has favored this pioneer from the start and his
realty and personal possessions are represented
now by a considerable figure. He was one of
the founders and is still a stockholder and di-
rector of the St. Johns State Bank.
When he came to St. Johns more than a half
century ago there were no roads cut through
the site of the present city and in fact there were
but two roads in the county. Within forty
feet, in sight of his present palatial home, built
about twenty years ago, he cut trees and built
his first log shanty. The next morning after
he had felled a cluster of trees, intending to con-
struct his cabin home upon the site, he found
that the ground was covered with the tracks of
deer, which were still quite numerous in the
forests, while other kinds of game and also
many wild animals were often killed in the
neighborhood. The work of progress and im-
provement had scarcely been begun and all
around stood the green forests, inviting the
labor of the lumberman and the agriculturist.
As Mr. Emmons' early years were spent in
arduous toil he had little chance of acquiring an
education. More than once he walked to Oak-
land county, a distance of eighty miles, and
back in early days. He was an expert hunter
in his manhood and he often supplied his table
with meat as a result of the chase. In later
years he has indulged in his favorite sport in
the wilds of northern Michigan.
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GEORGE W. EMMONS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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Mr. Emmons is an unusually well preserved
man, still active and energetic. He has never
found need for eye glasses and in his beautiful
home in St. Johns he is enjoying the fruits of
his labor. He bears the distinction of being the
first settler within the corporation limits^ of the
county seat and is one of the three oldest
pioneers of Clinton county, his colleagues being
John H. Corbitt and George Estes. His mind
bears the impress of many events which have
shaped the history of the county and he is re-
garded as authority upon the early annals of
this section of the state. Politically he has
always been a democrat and in the early days
of his residence here he served as a member of
the village board of St. Johns for seven years
and was assessor for one year.
In November, 1851, Mr. Emmons was united
in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Norton, a
daughter of Bishop Norton, of Dewitt town-
ship. She died after twelve years, leaving two
children : Ella, who died at the age of thirteen
years; and an infant. For his second wife Mr.
Emmons chose Mrs. Cornelia Pate, of Wayne,
Michigan, who died six years later. In 1861
he wedded Mary Jane Chase, of Detroit, and
unto them were born three sons and two daugh-
ters : Mrs. Mary E. Wegner, now of Canada ;
Walter, who is living in Lansing, Michigan;
Frederick C, of St. Johns; Mrs. Grace C. Hen-
derson, of Pontiac; and Clarence H., also of
St. Johns.
Many decades have passed since Mr. Emmons
came from the east to cast in his lot with the
pioneer settlers of Clinton county. People of
the present age can scarcely realize the strug-
gles and dangers which attended the early set-
tlers, the heroism and self-sacrifice of lives
passed upon the borders of civilization, the
hardships endured, the difficulties overcome.
These tales of the early days will be almost like
a romance to those who have known only the
modern prosperity and convenience. To the
pioneer of early times, far removed from the
privileges and conveniences of city or town, the
struggle for existence was a stern and hard
one, and these men and women must have pos-
sessed indomitable energy and sterling worth
of character as well as marked physical courage
when they thus voluntarily selected such a life
and successfully fought its battles under the
conditions that then prevailed in Michigan and
other states of the Northwest Territory.
EDWARD L. WALBRIDGE.
Edward L, Walbridge, one of the prominent
representatives of the Clinton county bar, is a
native of St. Johns, his birth having occurred
in this city, November 1, 1856. His father,
the late Captain Henry Walbridge, was a na-
tive of Vermont and his mother, whose maiden
name was Zilpah Allen, was a descendant of
the renowned Colonel Ethan Allen, who* with
his "Green Mountain boys" won distinction
in the Revolutionary war. Edward Walbridge
spent his early life in the city of his nativity,
entering the public schools at the usual age
and passing through successive grades until he
had completed the high-school course. He then
studied in the University of Michigan and
afterward prepared for the practice of law by
reading in his father's office. He was admit-
ted to the bar February 17, 1879, before Judge
Louis S. Lovell, of St. Johns. Previous to this
time, however, he had served as deputy post-
master of the city for a year. Following his
admission to the bar he entered immediately
upon the practice of law and in the succeeding
fall he was elected circuit court commissioner
of Clinton county, holding the office from 1880
until 1882. In 1883 he removed to Ithaca,
Michigan, where for five years he served as
village attorney. He was then elected circuit
court commissioner of Gratiot county for a
term of two years and for a brief period he
held office outside of the strict path of his pro-
fession, being president of the Ithaca school
board.
Soon after he located in Ithaca the con-
struction of the Toledo, Ann Arbor & North-
ern Michigan Railroad was begun through the
county and Mr. Walbridge was retained in
over twenty injunction suits bought to the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
circuit court against the proprietors of the
road — cases which attracted widespread atten-
tion. The company having violated injunc-
tions against laying its tracks, Mr. Walbridge
and his clients tore up the tracks and burned
the ties and as a result both the attorney and
his clients were arrested at the instance of the
company. However, he was absolutely certain
of his ground before he acted and this was soon
admitted by the abandonment of criminal pro-
ceedings by the railroad corporation. The
contest for the company's right of way con-
tinued and after being thrice beaten by Mr.
Walbridge in its litigated interests in the courts
the company settled with his clients in full,
paying all costs and attorney fees, and further
recognized Mr. Walbridge's ability by appoint-
ing him local counsel for the road. He held
that position for two years and tried various
important cases for the company.
In 1886 Mr. Walbridge, at Detroit, was ad-
mitted to practice in the United States circuit
and district courts before Judge Henry
Brown, associate justice of the United States
supreme court. Four years later he formed a
partnership with James Clarke, then prosecut-
ing attorney and served as his assistant until
the partnership was dissolved in 1892. In May
of that year he removed to Grand Rapids,
where he entered into partnership relations
with his brother, H. E. Walbridge, with whom
he continued for a year, and who, on the expi-
ration of that period, returned to St. Johns.
He enjoyed an extensive practice in Grand
Rapids for six years, his successful work as as-
sistant prosecuting attorney of Kent county
bringing him considerable reputation and the
Kent County Humane Society passed a resolu-
tion in commendation of his work. In 1893
he was elected a member of the State Bar As-
sociation, with which he is still connected.
It was in that year that Mr. Walbridge en-
tered into partnership with J. T. McAlister,
which relation was terminated by the appoint-
ment of the former on the 1st of March, 1894,
to the office of assistant prosecuting attorney
by Alfred Wolcott, then prosecuting attorney
of Kent county, which position he held until
June 1, 1896, when he resigned. That appoint-
ment came to him unsolicited and wras a pub-
lic recognition of his ability in the line of his
chosen profession. He has practiced largely
in the circuit and supreme courts and has made
a splendid reputation as a trial lawyer. In
the preparation of cases he is most thorough
and exhaustive and seems almost intuitively ta
grasp the strong points of law and fact. No
detail seems to escape him and every point is
given its due prominence in the case, which
is argued with such skill, ability and power
that he rarely fails to gain the verdict desired.
He is a popular and magnetic speaker and is
often called upon to deliver memorial and other
public addresses.
The position accorded Mr. Walbridge by his
professional colleagues was indicated by the
resolutions of respect read in open court upon
his removal from Ithaca and signed by all of
the attorneys of the twenty-ninth judicial dis-
trict, the presiding judge and the various
county officers, while a copy of these resolu-
tions were filed with the clerk of the court and
an engrossed copy was presented to Mr. Wal-
bridge. On the 26th of September, 1896, he
formed a partnership with William P. Belden
which continued for a brief period. In 1898,
however, he removed to Newport News, Vir-
ginia, where he practiced with conspicuous suc-
cess until 1902, when he returned to his old
home and until May 1, 1905, was in partner-
ship with his brother under the firm style of
H. E. & E. L. Walbridge, but he is now prac-
ticing alone. At Newport News he was ten-
dered a farewell banquet by the Huntington
Republican Club, the largest political organiza-
tion in the south, upon his removal from that
city. On the 1st of May, 1905, he was ap-
pointed city attorney by Mayor J. W. Fitzger-
ald and unanimously confirmed by the council.
Mr. Walbridge has always been a stalwart re-
publican— a recognized leader in the ranks of
his party in Michigan — and in 1904 he was the
president of the Theodore Roosevelt Club of
St. Johns and Clinton county. He was selected
by the Huntington Club, of Newport News,
Virginia, to deliver the memorial address on
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
IOI
President McKinley and to draft the resolu-
tions commemorative of his life. During the
presidential campaign of 1904 he put in thirty
continuous days speaking in Michigan under a
contract with the republican state committee,
who highly recommended his work.
On the nth of February, 1880, Mr. Wal-
bridge was married to Miss Mary Topping, a
daughter of Dr. G. W. Topping, of Dewitt,
one of the prominent physicians of the state.
They now have a daughter, Zoe Alberta. Both
Mr. and Mrs. Walbridge hold membership in
the Congregational church and his fraternal
relations connect him with the Knights of
Pythias. He is one of the most scholarly and
eloquent members of the Clinton county bar
with extensive experience in all branches of the
law, while his connection with private prac-
tice and municipal service have made him at
home in every phase of the profession. He
stands to-day as one of the most prominent
lawyers in central Michigan and in private as
well as public life is honored and respected by
all who know him.
E. W. GAY.
E. W. Gay is too well known in Elsie to
need any introduction to the readers of this
volume. He is a practical mechanic, who has
engaged in wagon-making and repair work for
about forty years. He is numbered among
the old settlers of the state, having resided
within its borders since 1853, while his resi-
dence in Clinton county dates from 1862. A
native of Pennsylvania, his birth occurred in
Mercer county, on the 8th of October, 1830.
His father, William Gay, was a native of Mas-
sachusetts but in early manhood went to Penn-
sylvania and was married there to Edna Gay.
A mechanic and wheelwright, he was employed
at his trade in various parts of the Keystone
state and in Canada, while his last years were
spent in Ohio. In his family were thirteen
children, of whom E. W. and James are resi-
dents of Clinton county, while Sylvester is in
the state of Washington. He is the eldest of
the family and is a great traveler, having visited
many parts of this country. He was also a
soldier of the Civil war.
E. W. Gay spent the days of his childhood
and youth in Summit county, Ohio, where he
learned the wheelwright's trade. He was also
bound out for four years, during which time
he worked at wagon-making and repairing and
thus gained a knowledge of the pursuits that
he has made a life work.
In 185 1, in Trumbull county, Ohio, Mr. Gay
was married to Miss Caroline Tiffany, a native
of the Buckeye state, and a daughter of Squire
Tiffany, who was a Revolutionary soldier and
lived to the extreme old age of one hundred
years, his death occurring in Batavia, New
York. Mr. Gay removed to Michigan in 1853,
settling first in Augusta, Kalamazoo county,
where he opened a wagon shop, working at his
trade there for eleven years. In 1863 he came
to Elsie, being one of the first to locate in this
town which was then situated in the midst of
the forest and was little more than a hamlet.
He started a shop here and began business, in
which he continued for thirty-five years. He
built farm and express wagons and did repair
work in this line. Within three years he manu-
factured one hundred and thirty wagons, em-
ploying several men. He afterward sold his
place of business to the Odd Fellows, who
erected their hall here for he was the owner
of one of the best business sites in the town of
Elsie. He later started a shop on his residence
lot and did some repair work here. He is in-
deed one of the worthy representatives of in-
dustrial interests in Elsie and in his life ex-
emplifies the term "dignity of labor." His
energy and perseverance have been strong ele-
ments in his character and have enabled him to
overcome difficulties and obstacles so that he
has worked his way gradually upward to suc-
cess.
In the fall of 1902 Mr. Gay was called upon
to mourn the loss of his wife. He has two
living children but one daughter, Edna, reached
womanhood, married and passed away. Emma
is now the wife of Adelbert Baker, who is
Bement Public Library
St. Johns, Michigan
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
engaged in the hotel business at Lakewood. a
summer resort in Oconto county, Wisconsin.
They have a daughter, Nina, who is now the
wife of Leo Fitzgerald, of Wisconsin, and has
one son. Lafayette B. Gay, a painter by trade,
is a fine workman and resides in Elsie with his
father. He spent four years in Oregon, where
he took a claim which he afterward sold, re-
turning to this county in order to make his
home with Mr. Gay.
When the republican party placed its first
candidate in the field E. W. Gay announced
himself as a champion of the new organization
and cast his ballot for John C. Fremont. He
has never failed to vote for each of its presi-
dential candidates since that time and has
greatly desired the success and growth of the
party but has never sought office for himself
nor would he ever consent to become a candidate
for political preferment. He is a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in
which he has filled all of the chairs and is now
a past grand. In the encampment he has like-
wise been honored with various offices and is
now high priest. He has also represented the
lodge in the grand lodge of the state and he
attends the Baptist church. Fifty-two years
have come and gone since he located in Michi-
gan and during forty-three years he has lived
in Elsie, taking an active part in the upbuilding
of the town and supporting each progressive
measure for its improvement. Indeed he is re-
garded as one of the useful men of the county
and one whose integrity and worth of character
entitle him to the unqualified friendship which
is so uniformly accorded him by those with
whom he is associated.
ALMOND G. SHEPARD.
Almond G. Shepard was born November 18,
1873, in Shepardsville, Clinton county, Michi-
gan, which town was named in honor of his
father, William H. Shepard. The paternal an-
cestors came originally from Holland and later
from Pennsylvania. William H. Shepard re-
moved from the east to Michigan, becoming
an early resident of Clinton county, and he was
prominently connected with public life in many
ways, being one of the first county judges, also
a pioneer merchant and miller. A man of
generous impulses and benevolent spirit, he gave
liberally to the poor and did much for the early
settlers of his community. He was married
three times, and by his union with Miss So-
phronia Crow had eight children. For his third
wife he chose Mrs. Catherine Pooley, her
maiden name being Knucke. She was born in
England and came of a family prominent in
that country. She first married Samuel Pooley,
by whom she had five children. One daughter,
Cora, is now the wife of George Parmenter, a
resident of Shepardsville. Unto William H.
and Catherine Shepard were born two children :
Albert H., now living in Phoenix, British Co-
lumbia ; and Almond G. The father died when
the younger son was but nine years of age,
passing away in 1882, at the age of sixty-six
years. His widow still survives and makes her
home in Ovid.
Almond G. Shepard acquired his education
in the common schools of the home district and
afterward attended the high school at Ovid, to
which place he had to walk three miles from the
farm. He was likewise a student in Baker's
Business College in 1892-3 and afterward went
to Chicago, where he remained for six months.
He entered upon the study of law in the
University of Michigan in the fall of 1893 and
was graduated in June, 1895. In September of
the same year he came to Ovid and opened a law
office, in which he has since remained in prac-
tice. He has been very successful in winning
cases before the supreme court and has a liberal
clientage of a distinctively representative char-
acter. His ability being quickly recognized, he
has been connected with much of the impor-
tant litigation tried in the courts of his district
in recent years. He gives his political allegiance
to the democratic party but has served as village
attorney through both democratic and repub-
lican appointments.
On the 9th of July, 1895, occurred the mar-
riage of Almond G. Shepard and Miss Jessie
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WILLIAM H. SHEPARD.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
105
Harrison a daughter of John and Catherine
(Martin) Harrison, of St. Johns. They have
two children, Elliott F. and Althea H Mr.
Shepard has always been a resident of Clinton
county and has been self-supporting since his
boyhood days. At the age of sixteen years,
without aid from any one, he conducted a farm
of one hundred and thirty acres and made a
splendid success of this work, thereby securing
the funds necessary to complete his education.
He is a typical representative of the young
man of the age, alert, enterprising and deter-
mined, belonging to that class who are fast
becoming leaders in the world's activities. Mr.
Shepard is recognized as one of the strong and
forceful characters of the Clinton county bar
and is accorded a patronage which is winning
him gratifying success.
HENRY RUMMELL.
Farming and blacksmithing formerly claimed
the attention of Henry Rummell but now he is
living retired in Elsie, having put aside the
more active duties of business life. He has
lived in Clinton county since 1865, and for
eighty years he has traveled life's journey, his
memory covering the period of greatest pro-
gress and improvement in the history of this
country. He is a native of Ohio, having been
born in Tuscarawas county on the 18th of
July, 1825. His father, George Rummell, was
a native of Pennsylvania, and when a young
man went to Ohio, settling in Tuscarawas
county. He was married there to Miss Cather-
ine Stifler, who was a native of Pennsylvania
but was reared in the Buckeye state. In his
early manhood he learned the trade of a carpen-
ter and joiner and to that pursuit devoted his
energies but his death occurred when his son
Henry was a young lad of five years. His wife
long survived him and reared her children.
Henry Rummell spent his youth in the
county of his nativity and learned the black-
smith's trade there, after which he followed that
pursuit for several years in Ohio. He carried
on a shop in New Philadelphia for a few years
and afterward removed to Delaware county,
conducting a smithy there for four years, meet-
ing with a fair measure of success. On the
expiration of that period, however, he sold out
and in 1865 came to Michigan, locating on a
farm, which he purchased in the midst of the
forest. It was covered with a dense growth of
timber which meant that much arduous toil
would be required ere the land was prepared
for cultivation. He cut away the trees, cleared
away the brush, grubbed out the stumps and
continued the work of improvement until the
fields were ready for the plow and the seed was
planted. For several years he lived upon that
place and is still its owner. He likewise owns
a well improved farm of eighty acres about two
miles west of Elsie. He had a shop on his farm
and in connection with general agricultural pur-
suits also engaged in blacksmithing for a num-
ber of years, but eventually he put aside busi-
ness cares and in September, 1904, took up his
abode in Elsie, where he is now living retired.
While still living in Ohio Mr. Rummell was
married in New Philadelphia, in 1849, to Miss
Sarah Jane Singhaws, whose birth occurred in
Harrison county, Ohio. They traveled life's
journey together for fifty-three years, sharing
with each other its joys and sorrows, the ad-
versity and prosperity which checker the careers
of all but on the 30th of March, 1902, they
were separated by the death of the wife. Three
children had been born unto them : E. F. Rum-
mell, who is now living on the home farm; C.
M., a farmer whose home is in Elsie; and Ella
May, the wife of J. Mead, of Elsie. Mr. Rum-
mell was again married in Ovid on the 29th
of August, 1904, to Anna E. Hill, a na-
tive of Canada and a daughter of Rev. John
Hill, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal
church in Canada. She was reared and edu-
cated in her native county and resided there
until 1883, after which she came to Michigan
with her mother and family, locating in Che-
boygan, where she lived for four years.
Politically Mr. Rummell is an advocate of
republican principles, believing firmly in the
policy of the party and its platform. He and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.!'
his wife are members of the Methodist Episco-
pal church, and Mrs. Rummell takes a most
active part in its work. She was born in the
parsonage arid was reared by parents who were
devotedly attached to that denomination. Mr.
Rummell has a very wide and favorable ac-
quaintance in the county and now crowned with
years he receives the veneration and respect
which should ever be accorded to one who has
traveled far on life's journey and has made a
record that exemplifies the sterling traits of
honorable manhood.
GEORGE R. SIMMONS.
George R. Simmons is living retired in De-
witt but for years was an active and successful
agriculturist of Clinton county, owning a well
improved farm in Olive township. A native
son of Michigan, his birth occurred in Wash-
tenaw county, January 23, 1842. His father,
Atwell Simmons, was born in the state of New
York in 1805 and after arriving at years of ma-
turity was married there to Lovina Knapp, a na-
tive of that state. In the year 1842 they ar-
rived in Michigan, settling in Washtenaw
county, where Mr. Simmons purchased a farm,
living thereon for three years. He then sold
and came to Clinton county in 1845, taking up
his abode in Riley township, where he opened
up a farm in the midst of the forest. He reared
his family thereon and continued to carry on
general agricultural pursuits until his life's la-
bors were ended in death in 1880. His wife
survived him for a number of years, passing
away in May, 1902. They had one son and one
daughter, the latter being Amina, the wife of
Amari Cook, of Riley township. The son,
George R. Simmons, reared in this county, to
which he was brought when but three years of
age, had but limited school privileges and his
knowledge has been largely self -acquired. He
remained with his father until twenty-one years
of age and was afterward married in Olive
township, on the 21st of December, 1854, to
Miss Elizabeth Tucker, a native of Tioga
county, New York, and a daughter of Hiram
and Lucy (Smith) Tucker, who were also na-
tives of the Empire state, the former having
been born in Otsego county and the latter in
Tioga county. Mr. Tucker removed westward
to Michigan in 1850 and his daughter was
therefore reared in this state. Mr. and Mrs.
Simmons began their domestic life upon a farm
and he owned and improved a valuable tract of
land in Olive township. The soil was alluvial
and productive and as the years passed returned
splendid harvests. After successfully carrying
on general agricultural pursuits for some time
Mr. Simmons removed to the village of Dewitt,
where he now resides in honorable retirement
from further business cares.
Unto our subject and his wife have been
born five children but the only one now living is
Ella, the wife of M. F. Pike, a farmer of Olive
township. Ada and Eva, twins, died in early
childhood and Dora died at the age of six
years, while Hiram Simmons reached adult
age and was married here. He became a promi-
net citizen of Dewitt and served as postmaster
of the village for a number of years or until
the time of his death, which occurred in 1893.
He left two daughters, Ada and Eva. Mr. and
Mrs. Simmons of this review are members of the
Universalist church and Mr. Simmons belongs
to the Masonic lodge, in which he has served
as master and filled all the other chairs, while
both he and his wife are members of the Order
of the Eastern Star. He is a man of un-
Clinton Port Gal 12 G
blemished character and moral worth, who has
lived an honest, upright life and has a favor-
able acquaintance in Clinton county, where the
circle of his friends is very extensive.
ABRAM HARRIS.
Abram Harris, whose home is on section 10,
Bath township, is a native son of Michigan
and is one of the successful farmers of Clinton
county, where he has resided for a period of
thirty-five years. That his labors have been
carefully directed is shown in his neat and well
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MR. AND MRS. G. R. SIMMONS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
109
improved farm of eighty acres, on which he
has lived since 1870. He came to this county
from Lenawee county, Michigan, where he was
born on the 8th of December, 1837. His father,
Captain Garrett Harris, was born in Ulster
county, New York, in 18 16, and was a son
of Abram Harris, one of the early residents of
this part of the state. Captain Harris was
reared to manhood in Ulster county and was
married there to Magdalena Auchmoody, who
was likewise a native of New York. He served
in the state militia, both in New York and
Michigan, and in 1836 he came to the west,
settling in Lenawee county, where he developed
a farm, his original home being one of the old-
time log cabins, in which the family endured
many hardships and trials incident to pioneer
life while they were endeavoring to subdue the
wilderness and carve out a good farm in the
midst of the forest. Captain Harris continued
the work of clearing and improving his land
and afterward extended the boundaries of his
property until he owned three hundred and
seventy-two acres in his home farm and also
good land elsewhere. He was elected the first
supervisor of Woodstock, Lenawee county, and
was recognized as a man of good education and
business capacity who was able to conduct busi-
ness affairs in a helpful manner, and his loyalty
to the general welfare was above question. He
continued to reside upon the old homestead until
his death, which occurred in May, 1900. His
first wife died when Abram Harris was a child
and he married again, his second wife, how-
ever, surviving him but seven days.
Abram Harris was one of two children
born of their first marriage, his sister Mary
being the wife of Jacob Avery, who is living
in Jackson county, Michigan. Abram Harris
grew to manhood in Lenawee county, remain-
ing with his father throughout the period of
his minority. He was married in that county,
in 1861, to Miss Mary C. Hewitt, who was
born in Jackson county, Michigan, and is a lady
of superior education and culture, who prior to
her marriage successfully engaged in teaching.
Subsequent to that time she and her husband
resided in Lenawee county, where they remained
for some years, three children being born unto
them during their residence there. In 1870 Mr.
Harris came with his family to Clinton county,
settling on land which he had previously pur-
chased. He began here with sixty acres, which
he cleared and improved, and later he traded
that place for the farm on which he now resides.
Here he owns one hundred and twenty acres.
He has added to it and remodeled the home and
now has a substantial residence. There is also
a large basement barn on the place and he has
made other neat and valuable improvements,
which add to the attractive appearance of the
farm and indicate the owmer to be a man of
progressive spirit and substantial worth in his
agricultural interests.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Harris have been born
five children, of whom four are yet living;.
Orin, who resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan;
William, a resident farmer of this county; Net-
tie, the wife of Frank Smith, who follows
farming in Victor township; Garrett F., who
is married and assists in carrying on the home
farm. They lost their first born, Leota, who
was the wife of Levi Canen and at her death
left one child.
Politically Mr. Harris is independent, sup-
porting the men and measures regardless of
party, nor has he cared for office. He is a
member of Bath lodge, I. O. O. F., has served
through all of its chairs and is past grand,
while to the grand lodge of the state he has
been a delegate. Llis life has been character-
ized by untiring industry and unfaltering pur-
pose and exemplifies the term "dignity of labor,"
for through the careful conduct of his business
interests he has won success and his honorable
methods have gained for him an enviable
reputation.
GEORGE W. PAYNE.
George W. Payne, who is engaged in general
farming on section 2, Lebanon township, was
born in the township of Fulton, Gratiot county,
Michigan, December 5, 1854. His father,
Arnold Payne, was a native of New York and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY,
when a young man came to Michigan, settling
in Gratiot county. He made the journey west-
ward with Arnold Payne, Sr., who was ac-
companied by his eight sons and five daughters,
the family home being established in Gratiot
county. It was in that locality that Arnold
Payne, Jr., was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Gladston, a native of England. He was
killed in the lumber woods during the early
youth of George W. Payne, and his widow
afterward carried on the home farm. In the
family were two sons and a daughter, of whom
Riley Payne is a farmer in Gratiot county,
while Carrie E. is the widow of Fred Cross.
George W. Payne spent his youth in Gratiot
county and acquired a common-school educa-
tion there. After he had attained his majority
he settled upon a farm of forty acres in that
county which he cultivated for some time and
then sold. Subsequently he bought another
farm on section 2, Lebanon township. This is
one of the neatest places in the locality and is
situated just across the road from the Allen
grove. In all of his work Mr. Payne has been
practical and enterprising and his labors have
been attended with a gratifying measure of suc-
cess.
In October, 1878, in Gratiot county, Mr.
Payne wedded Miss Clara Blizzard, a native
of Clinton county and a daughter of Oliver
Blizzard, a native of England, who came to
this section of the state at an early date. Two
children grace this marriage: Roy, now agent
at Fowler for the Grand Trunk Railway Com-
pany, who is married and has a son, Russell
Payne; and Blanche, the wife of Marvin O.
Allen, a farmer of Lebanon township.
In his political views Mr. Payne is a re-
publican where questions of national policy are
involved but at local elections votes regardless
of party affiliation. He served as constable for
four consecutive terms but has never desired
office. He and his wife are connected with the
Maccabees lodge at Maple Rapids. They have
a pleasant and neat home surrounded by a well
kept lawn and the farm is in excellent condi-
tion. Mr. Payne has owned and partially im-
proved a number of farms in Gratiot county
and in his work possesses that determined spirit
and unabating energy that enables him to carry
forward to successful completion whatever he
undertakes.
BENJAMIN D. ACKMOODY.
Benjamin D. Ackmoody has a wide and
favorable acquaintance in Elsie, where he is
well known as an all-round business man and
public-spirited citizen. Although his residence
in the village covers but a brief period he has
resided for many years in this part of the state,
his home being just across the border line in
Gratiot county since 1879. Six years previous
he became a resident of Michigan, taking up
his abode at that time in Hillsdale county. He
is a native of Onondaga county, New York,
born on the 25th of December, 1842. His
father, Abraham Ackmoody, was a native of
Ulster county, New York, born in April, 1799,
and his father was James Ackmoody, likewise a
native of that county and of Scotch descent,
his ancestors having been among the first set-
tlers of Ulster county, New York. Abraham
Ackmoody was reared in that locality and was
married there to Miss Hannah Atkins, who was
also born in Ulster county. He afterward set-
tled in Onondaga county, where he followed
farming and reared his family. His wife passed
away there and he afterward came to Michigan,
settling in Ingham county, where he spent his
last years.
B. D. Ackmoody was reared to manhood in
the county of his nativity and acquired a good
public-school education there. In July, 1862,
responding to his country's call for aid, he en-
listed in Cayuga county, New York, joining
Company H of the One Hundred and Eleventh
New York Infantry. With the Army of the
Potomac he served under General George B.
McClellan, first taking part in the battle of
Harper's Ferry, where he was captured. Later,
however, he was paroled and sent to Chicago,
remaining at Camp Douglas for two months.
He was then exchanged and returned to active
service on the Potomac but became ill with
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
in
measles and later suffered from smallpox, re-
maining in the hospital for two months. He
then returned home in February, 1863, and
was honorably discharged because of disability.
It was almost a year before he had regained his
health and was able to become an active factor
in business life. He re-enlisted January 24,
1864, in Battalion L, Sixteenth Heavy Artil-
lery, and served until the close of the war. He
learned the shoemaker's trade, which he fol-
lowed in connection with harnessmaking until
his removal to Michigan.
Before leaving his native state Mr. Ack-
moody was married in Chenango county on the
26th of January, 1864, to Miss Ellen Stone,
who was born in New Hampshire but was
reared in Madison county, New York. In 1873
they came to Michigan, settling at North Adams,
Hillsdale county, where Mr. Ackmoody estab-
lished a shoemaking and harnessmaking shop,
carrying on business for six years. He then sold
out and removed to Gratiot county, purchas-
ing an improved farm not far from Alma. To
its further cultivation and development he de-
voted his energies for a year and then sold out,
after which he removed to Elwell, where he
bought an established business, and for five or
six years engaged in general merchandising,
also serving as postmaster at that place. When
he disposed of his stock of goods there he took
up his abode in Ashley, where he engaged in
farming for two years and later carried on a
harness shop for six or seven years. Once more
he sold his store and located on a farm, wrhich
he cultivated and improved for two years, when
in December, 1903, he established his residence
in Elsie, purchasing a house which he has re-
modeled and to which he has added until he
now has a neat and attractive residence here.
He has charge of his son's farm, giving general
supervision to the place and also looks after his
son's business interests.
Mr. and Mrs. Ackmoody have but one child,
Willis B. Ackmoody, who is now a traveling
man and is married and resides in Grand
Rapids. He has one son, Willis B. Ackmoody.
In his political views Mr. Ackmoody has
been a lifelong republican and while living in
Hillsdale county served as justice of the peace,
while for six years he filled the same office in
Gratiot county. In 1904 he was elected justice
in Elsie and re-elected in 1905, so that he has
long filled that position, a fact which is indi-
cative of his capable and efficient service, his
decisions being marked by strict fairness and
impartiality. He was also a member of the
town board of Gratiot. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Ackmoody are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, with which he has been
identified for nearly forty years. He has served
as a member of the official board of the church
and in all of the other offices has taken a very
active part in Sunday-school work, serving for
years as superintendent, and for nearly twenty
years has been a local preacher of the denomi-
nation. Since 1867 he has affiliated with the
Masonic fraternity, has filled all of the chairs
in the local lodge and is now a past master,
while he and his wife are identified with the
Eastern Star. He is likewise a member of the
Grange and represented Gratiot county in the
State Grange. He has a wide and favorable
acquaintance in both Clinton and Gratiot
counties and the esteem which is ever given in
recognition of genuine personal worth is his.
He has so lived as to win the unqualified con-
fidence and regard of those with whom he has
been associated and as the years have gone by
the circle of his friends has constantly
broadened.
LEWIS D. WAGNER.
Lewis D. Wagner, living on section 11,
Greenbush township, is the owner of a farm of
one hundred acres and the rich land yields to
him excellent harvests annually because of the
care and labor which he bestows upon it. His
residence in Clinton county dates from 1850,
so that he is numbered among the early settlers.
He was born in Knox county, Ohio, October
3, 1849, an<^ is a son of John Wagner, a native
of Pennsylvania, who was reared in Ohio. His
father was George Wagner, a native of Ger-
many and the founder of the family in the new
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
world. After living in Pennsylvania for a
time he removed to Ohio, settling there when
John Wagner was a young man. He took up
his abode in Knox county and John Wagner
was there married to Miss Polly Kirby, a na-
tive of Ohio. He then began farming in the
Buckeye state and followed that pursuit for
some years, clearing his land, developing a
good property and making a specialty of the
raising of tobacco. There with one exception
all of his children were born. In 1850 he came
to Clinton county, Michigan, taking up his
abode on the farm where his son Lewis now
resides, the family home being in the midst of
the green woods. They lived in a log cabin for
several years, having the only double log house
in this part of the county. The father cleared
and improved a good farm with the aid of his
sons and in due course of time replaced the log
house by a good frame residence. He also pro-
vided ample shelter for grain, stock and farm
machinery by erecting4 good barns and sheds
and in his work he prospered, owing to his
capable management and indefatigable industry.
He spent his last years upon this farm, passing
away here in the fall of 1890, having for some
years survived his wife. In fact he had mar-
ried again. There are two survivors of the
family of five children: Lewis D. and Anna,
the latter being the wife of Stephen Gilson, of
St. Johns.
Lewis D. Wagner was brought to Michigan
by his parents in his infancy and was reared
upon the old homestead farm, where he yet re-
sides. Het remained with his father until he
had attained his majority and was married in
Greenbush township in 1870 to Miss Mary
Catherine Bird, a native of the state of New
York, who in her girlhood days came to Clin-
ton county. She is a daughter of James Bird
and a sister of William Bird. The young couple
began their domestic life in Eureka and Mr.
Wagner operated the old home place for fifteen
years, renting it from his father. Subsequent
to the father's death he purchased his sister's
interest in the property and thus succeeded to
the ownership of the old home farm, which he
at once began to cultivate and improve in keep-
ing with the most modern ideas concerning pro-
gressive agriculture. He has added to and re-
modeled the house, has also improved the barn
and put up other good outbuildings, including
a carriage house and ice house. The entire
farm is fenced, considerable wire fencing being
used and there is no equipment of a model farm
that is lacking. He has for several years rented
his land but he gives his supervision to keeping
up the place.
While living on the old homestead Mr.
Wagner was called upon to mourn the loss of
his first wife, who died leaving two children:
Anna, now the wife of V. G. Carter, who fol-
lows farming on the old home property; and
Floyd E., who is now holding a responsible
position as a traveling salesman for O. P.
Dewitt, of St. Johns. On the 24th of Decem-
ber, 1896, Mr. Wagner was again married, his
second union being with Esther Pershing, a
native of Ohio, in which state she was reared
and educated, her father being George Persh-
ing, a native of Pennsylvania.
Politically Mr. Wagner is an earnest repub-
lican but without aspiration for office. His wife
is a member of the Evangelical churchy His
residence in Clinton county covers a period of
fifty-five years and his mind bears the impress
of its early historic annals and forms a con-
necting link between the primitive past and the
progressive present. He has helped to improve
and make the county what it is today, being
closely identified with Eureka and Greenbush
township. He has resided all these years in
this section of the county, where he is very well
known, and his many excellent traits of char-
acter have gained for him the respect and con-
fidence of those with whom he has been as-
sociated.
CHARLES H. MANLEY.
Charles H. Manley was one of the promoters
of a leading industrial enterprise of St. Johns,
known as the Premiun Manufacturing Works,
and is likewise at the head of the Central Poul-
try Supply House. The extent of his business
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CHARLES H. MANLEY.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
"5
is the result of a careful study of public wants
and honest effort to please his patrons and he
is now controlling interests which bring him
a desirable financial return. A native of Eng-
land, he was born January 12, 187 1, and the
ancestry of the family can be traced back to the
reign of Charles I. Representatives of the name
were prominent in the East India service.
Charles Maddock Manley, father of our sub-
ject, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire,
England, and wras connected with the English
consulate at Baltimore, Maryland, spending
much of his life in the government and diplo-
matic service. He married Ellen Howe, also
a native of England, and his death occurred
when he was fifty-seven years of age, while
his wife passed away six months later, in 1900,
also at the age of fifty-seven years.
Charles H. Manley, their only son, acquired
his education in the Chettenham public schools
and in King's College, from wihch he was
graduated in 1897 with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts. He afterward completed a course in
London University with the degree of Master
of Arts in the class of 1899, and became a lec-
turer for the International Protestant Feder-
ation, his territory covering the eastern and
southern portions of England. For two years
he devoted his life to that work, after which he
returned to his home and for a period was en-
gaged in evangelistic work. At the breaking
out of the Boer wTar he became chaplain of the
Royal Horse Artillery and remained in South
Africa for two years during the period of
hostilities there. He then came to America in
1903 and was engaged in evangelistic work in
St. Johns for six months, after which he or-
ganized and established the Premiun Manu-
facturing Works. The manufactured product
includes horticultural buildings, portable houses,
poultry supplies, conservatories, green houses,
garden frames, summer cottages, auto houses,
hunting lodges, incubators, brooders, colony
houses, fencing, sundries and utilities of every
description. He also deals in bee supplies,
pigeon goods, in standard bred poultry and in
eggs for hatching. The business has increased
rapidly from the beginning and at its present
rapid rate of growth will be one of the largest
of the kind in the country. He was the first
to begin the business of shipping live chicks by
express and has established a business in many
states, making shipments of chicks one week
after hatching. This department has grown to
such an extent that the St. Johns Hatching
Company was formed with a capital of ten
thousand dollars, of which Mr. Manley is
president. He carries all kinds of poultry
foods and has the largest stock of poultry ap-
pliances and supplies in the middle west. The
business occupies a four-story building on the
Grand Trunk Railroad and a private track has
been laid to this structure so that Mr. Manley
is enabled to make prompt and economical ship-
ments. He has been a frequent contributor to
leading poultry journals of the country, is re-
garded as a most practical poultryman and has
been a lecturer for the Utility Club.
On the 1st of June, 1904, Mr. Manley was
married to Miss Matie Marie Martin, a daugh-
ter of Mrs. Elizabeth Martin, of St. Johns. Mr.
Manley has worked his way upward, attaining
prominence in his chosen field of labor through
merit and unfaltering diligence. Dominated by
the progressive and enterprising spirit of the
west, energy and industry have stood him in
stead of capital and have crowned his efforts
with prosperity.
CAPTAIN HENRY WALBRIDGE.
Captain Henry Walbridge, whose life record
constitutes an honored chapter in the history of
the bar of central Michigan, was born in Cabot,
Washington county, Vermont, August 21,
1820. He died June 24, 1899, at which time
he was one of the oldest practitioners in years
of continuous connection with the bar in the
United States. Orphaned at the age of twelve
years and obliged to support himself from that
time, his latent powers and energies were early
called forth and he soon gave proof of the ele-
mental strength of his character, which in later
years made him a distinguished representative
of the legal profession in Michigan and one
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
who wielded a wide influence in public affairs.
In his youth he learned a trade, working
through the day, while his evening hours were
devoted to reading and study. He early re-
alized the importance and value of a liberal edu-
cation and after attending an academy during
its night sessions he took up the study of law
during the evening hours and thus qualified
himself for passing an examination before
Judge Isaac P. Redfield, whereby he was ad-
mitted to practice in the courts of Vermont.
Captain Walbridge entered upon the active
work at the bar in Plainfield, Vermont, and
subsequently located in Glover in the same state,
continuing a member of the bar there until
thirty-two years of age. In the meantime he
had married and in 1852 he came with his
family to Michigan, settling at Saline, where
he combined a law practice with the business of
merchandising. Not only did he attain promi-
nence in business but also became a recognized
factor in political circles and was present at
the birth of the republican party "under the
oaks/' at Jackson, Michigan, in 1854.
In 1856 Captain Walbridge removed from
Saline to St. Johns, where he established a
permanent residence and at once entered upon
the practice of law. He served as prosecuting
attorney for one term before entering the mili-
tary service of his country. A champion of the
cause of liberty and of the Union he was com-
missioned second lieutenant by Governor Blair
in 1862, and was assigned to serve in the re-
cruiting office of the Twenty-third Michigan
Infantry. He thus raised Company G of that
regiment and was mustered in as its captain in
the month of July, going at once to the front.
He was in active service for about a year and
a half but while in camp at London, Tennessee,
he became ill and, unfitted for further field
service, he resigned his commission and on a
surgeon's certificate of disability was honorably
discharged, after which he returned to his home
in St. Johns. While in the army he was de-
tailed as judge advocate in the court marshal's
office.
Again entering upon the practice of his pro-
fession in St. Johns, Captain Walbridge was
soon afterward elected prosecuting attorney of
Clinton county and also served as circuit court
commissioner for several terms. In 1896 he
was once more nominated and elected prosecut-
ing attorney, rendering service in that capacity
which made his incumbency a valued one to this
section of the state. At the time of his death
he was one of the oldest practicing lawyers of
the country. Hale, active and vigorous up to
within six months of his demise, he was widely
recognized as one of the prominent and capable
members of the bar of central Michigan. In
the examination of witnesses he had few su-
periors and while his questions were searching
in their scope he was always considerate in his
treatment of those called before the courts to
testify and because of this he won the merited
regard of many. He tried important cases in
the circuit courts of Michigan and his name is
a familiar one upon the reports of the supreme
court. His legal learning, his analytical mind
and the readiness with which he grasped the
points in an argument all combined to make
him a strong trial lawyer and his service was
equally valuable in counsel so that the public and
the profession acknowledged him a peer of the
ablest members practicing in St. Johns and the
central portion of the state.
Captain Walbridge was married while in the
east to Miss Zilpah Allen, a native of Vermont
and a descendant of General Ethan Allen, who
with his "Green Mountain Boys" captured Fort
Ticonderoga and won fame for the Vermont
soldiers in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Wal-
bridge still survives her husband and their sur-
viving children are: Henry E. and Edward L.,
practicing attorneys of St. Johns ; and Ella, the
wife of Dr. J. H. De May, of Jackson.
For six months prior to his demise Captain
Walbridge was in ill health and was confined
to his home from February until June. On
the day of his death the national colors were
placed at half mast on the courthouse and on
the day of interment the circuit court adjourned
and the business houses closed out of respect
to his memory during the hour of the funeral
services. Resident members of the old Twenty-
third Michigan Infantry served as pallbearers,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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while the Grand Army post attended in a body
as did the Masonic fraternity, which conducted
the services. Memorial resolutions of respect
were passed by the Clinton county bar and the
feeling throughout the city was one of deep
and widespread regret when this honored
pioneer lawyer passed away. A finely balanced
mind and a well rounded character had gained
him professional success and warm personal
friendships.
JOHN H. CORBIT.
John H. Corbit, the oldest merchant of St.
Johns, for fifty years connected with commer-
cial pursuits here and still conducting an ex-
tensive store in which he deals in hardware and
agricultural implements, is a native of the town-
ship of Lewiston, Niagara county, New York.
His birth occurred on the 30th of June, 1832,
his parents being George and Mary (Gardner)
Corbit. The father was a native of Ireland and
was a weaver by trade. Becoming a resident
of America he was married in this country to
Mary Gardner, who was born in the United
States but was of German lineage. Soon after
the railway was completed from Lockport, New
York, to Niagara Falls, George Corbit was ap-
pointed station agent at Pekin, New York,
which position he filled for many years, but he
came to St. Johns, Michigan, to spend his last
days and here passed away at the age of eighty
years. His wife died at the age of fifty-three
years.
John H. Corbit was a youth of fourteen sum-
mers at the time of his mother's death. The
following year he left home and starting out in
the world on his own account has since been
dependent entirely upon his labors and energies
for the success and privileges he has enjoyed.
He made his way to Battle Creek, Michigan,
in 1854, but afterward returned to New York
and in 1855 removed to Albion, Michigan. He
learned the tinner's trade as an apprentice to
the firm of Flagler & Lewis, at Lockport, New
York, his term of apprenticeship covering three
years, beginning in 1850. He was afterward
employed by Charles Keep, of Lockport, for a
year and later followed the same pursuit as an
employe at Niagara Falls and at Pekin, New
York. Coming to the west he secured a posi-
tion in Albion, where he remained until the
spring of 1856, when he removed to St. Johns
and here embarked in business on his own ac-
count, forming a partnership with William
Mott under the firm name of Corbit & Mott,
dealers in hardware. This arrangement was
maintained for four years, at the end of which
time Mr. Corbit purchased his partner's in-
terest. He then continued alone and eventually
he sold his stock and purchased the site of his
present large business block from a Mr. Gear
on Walker street west. A small building stood
on this site, where for forty years Mr. Corbit
has now carried on business. He there suc-
ceeded Edward Valentine, with whom he was
associated for four years and who had been a
dealer in agricultural implements. Thus Mr.
Corbit extended the field of his operations
which have since embraced both a hardware and
agricultural implement trade. From 1861 until
1865 he was in partnership in the hardware
business with John B. Chapman, after which
he bought out Mr. Chapman's interest. He has
long been alone and is to-day the oldest repre-
sentative of commercial interests in St. Johns,
having for almost a half century been a factor
in its mercantile circles, his name being honored
and respected because of his unfaltering fidelity
to a high standard of commercial ethics. Dur-
ing his first spring in St. Johns he went to
Buffalo, New York, to purchase a stock of
goods which he secured partly on credit. He
borrowed five hundred dollars to make the pur-
chase and the goods were shipped by rail to
Fenton and thence hauled across the country
by wagon to St. Johns — a difficult undertaking
at that day owing to the poor condition of the
roads. The new enterprise, however, proved
prosperous almost from the start. The first
year he had a good trade but the next year he
was not so fortunate, for the crops in his lo-
cality failed and his sales were thereby
diminished. The end of the second year there-
fore found him in debt and upon his borrowed
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
money he paid ten per cent interest, but better
times came and through his persistency of pur-
pose and unfaltering diligence he gained success.
Year by year his capital was increased and he
enlarged his store in order to meet the de-
mands of a growing patronage. The building
which he first occupied on the present site was
a little structure twenty-five by fifty feet, to
which he has added from time to time until he
now has a large and well appointed business
block in which he carries an extensive stock.
For a number of years he has been a member
of the Business Men's Association and is the
vice president of the State Bank of St. Johns,
being one of the organizers and directors and
retaining this connection with the institution for
the past five years.
In 1 86 1 Mr. Corbit was married to Miss
Jennie Earl, a daughter of Daniel Earl, of
Baldwinsville, New York. Their only surviv-
ing child is Helen, who resides with her father.
They lost two daughters, Fanny at the age of
five years and Agnes at the age of eighteen
years. Mr. Corbit has never been a politician,
although he manifests a public-spirited interest
in the political situations of the country and the
outcome of the important issues before the peo-
ple. The only office which he has ever held
was that of member of the school board for one
term. He was one of the promoters of St.
Johns Episcopal church, for many years has
served on its vestry and filled the office of
senior warden. His wife and daughter are also
members of that church. He has been a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity since 1861 and
belongs to the Ancient Order of United Work-
men. He is one of the reliable, trustworthy
merchants in this city, of splendid business
qualifications and good judgment and may well
be termed one of the founders of the city, for
the growth and development of every com-
munity depends upon its commercial and in-
dustrial activity. He has concentrated his
energies upon one line of business and therein
has attained splendid success, earning for him-
self an enviable reputation, while in his deal-
ings he is known for his prompt and honorable
methods which have won him the deserved and
unqualified trust of his fellowmen. He has a
beautiful home, erected in 1861, at which time
the surrounding country was almost an un-
broken forest, and he has watched with interest
its growth and development.
THOMAS L. SWARTHOUT.
Few men are more familiar with the history
of pioneer life in Clinton county than Thomas
Lonsbury Swarthout, of Ovid, whose mind
bears the impress of the early historic annals of
this section of the state for he has been a wit-
ness of the growth and progress of the county
as it has emerged from frontier conditions and
taken its place with the leading counties of
the commonwealth, having all of the ad-
vantages and improvements known to the older
east. He was born in Romulus, Seneca county,
New York, October 6, 1831, his parents being
William S. and Betsey (Willett) Swarthout,
in whose family were seven sons, Thomas L.
being the fifth in order of birth. At the age
of five years he accompanied his parents to
Michigan, the family home being established in
Victor township, St. Johns county.
It was in 1837 that his- father and six other
heads of families left New York and started
to the west. They had to make roads in St.
Johns county for none had as yet been laid out
and the father built the log house into which
the family removed. Dr. Laing at that time
was the nearest neighbor, his home being three
and a half miles away. In the summer of
1836 Rev. Isaac Bennett came to the Swarth-
out home to preach as a missionary sent out by
the Ohio conference of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Many settlers came to the county in
1838, 1839 and 1840, which years constituted
a period of rapid pioneer growth. All kinds of
wild game was to be had in abundance, the
fish were plentiful in the rivers and there were
wild berries, all of which proved useful to the
pioneer settlers, many of whom were in limited
financial circumstances. Mr. Swarthout well
remembers the Chippewa Indians and their
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T. L. SWARTHOUT.
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— — — r—
MRS. T. L. SWARTHOUT.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
123
chief who would visit at the Swarthout home
and dine with the family. He was a tall, well
formed Indian and lived to the advanced age of
one hundred and five years. In those early
days wheat and other grain were threshed on the
oround and winnowed by hand. The produce
of the farm was taken to Detroit or Pontiac
and the trip to the former place required a week.
Few are as familiar with the pioneer history
as is Mr. Swarthout and his reminiscences are
very interesting, showing the conditions of
things that existed in the early days before the
white man had carried forward to any extent
his work of reclaiming this district for the pur-
pose of civilization.
In his youth Mr. Swarthout assisted his
father upon the home farm. He was reared
amid pioneer influences and surroundings,
spending his boyhood, youth and manhood upon
the farm in Victor township. At the age of
sixteen years he began teaching in the sub-
scription schools and was thus employed during
the winter for fourteen years, receiving from
seventeen to twenty dollars per month. He
took up his abode on a farm on section 12,
Victor township, in 1854 and there continued
to reside for nearly a half century, or until
1903. His farm, which he still owns, com-
prises two hundred and fifteen acres of rich
and valuable land, which he developed from a
wild tract. In 1903, however, he put aside agri-
cultural pursuits and removed to Ovid, where
he is now living retired in a comfortable home.
In 1872 he built fine buildings upon his farm,
including a substantial residence. He was an
extensive raiser of and dealer in sheep and also
gave some attention to cattle, but for a long
period was known as one of the most successful
sheep raisers of Clinton county.
On the 5th of April, 1854, Mr. Swarthout
was married to Miss Mary Parker, who at that
time was living in Victor township, Clinton
county. Her parents were John and Sarah
(Cronkite) Parker, and she was born in
Romulus, Seneca county, New York, December
2I> 1834. She became the mother of a son
and daughter: Edson, who is now living in
Ovid; and Nora E., the wife of Charles E.
Warner, a farmer and prominent citizen of
Falkton, South Dakota. They have three
daughters, Marjorie Swarthout, Gladys Mil-
dred and Mary Geraldine.
In his political views Mr. Swarthout has long
been a stalwart republican and has served his
fellow townsmen in various official capacities,
acting as township clerk many years, township
treasurer and school inspector several years.
Since the age of seventeen years he has been
a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, to which his wife belongs, and they are
widely recognized as earnest, consistent Chris-
tian people. He has gained a valuable com-
petence through well directed effort and untir-
ing enterprise and is now enjoying the fruits
of his former toil in honorable retirement from
further labor.
FRED R. EVERETT.
Fred R. Everett, a representative of the Ovid
bar, was born in Shiawassee county, February
16, 1875, his parents being John W. and Jarie
Everett, natives of New York. After leaving
the Empire state when a young man the father
engaged in the operation of a mill at Ithaca for
a number of years, when he was appointed
keeper of the Jackson prison, where he remained
for about ten years. On the expiration of that
period he engaged in merchandising in Burton,
Michigan, and subsequently followed the same
pursuit in Ithaca. Eventually he retired from
business with a comfortable competence earned
through untiring labor and careful management
in former years, and he is still making his home
in Ithaca in the enjoyment of a well earned rest.
His wife departed this life in 1889. Of the six
children of that marriage three are living, Fred
R. being the youngest. The others are Mrs.
Lena B. High, of Ovid, and Howard, of St.
Paul, Minnesota.
Fred R. Everett acquired a common-school
education and continued his studies in the high
schools of Ovid and of Owosso, while later he
pursued a business university course in 1893.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
During that time he also took up the study of
law in Ovid and after careful preliminary read-
ing was admitted to the bar by Judge Daboll
in 1895. In the same year he went to Ann
Arbor, where he matriculated in the State
University and was graduated with the law
class of 1896. He then returned to Ovid,
where he has since engaged in practice and for
six or eight years he served as village attorney
here, while for eight consecutive years he was
circuit court commissioner. He has always
been active in politics and has been a member
of the election board. His chief attention, how-
ever, is devoted to his profession and his fidelity
to his clients' interests is proverbial, while in
the trial of a case his presentation of the facts
bearing upon the suit show careful preparation
and thorough investigation.
On the 19th of September, 1899, Mr. Everett
was united in marriage to Miss Laura M.
Grimes, of Detroit. She has a brother George
who lives in Detroit and a sister Katherine, also
a resident of Detroit, while her brother Mathew
is dispatcher at Durand, Michigan, and John
is a resident of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Everett
occupy an enviable position in the social circles
of the town in which they make their home and
are people of genuine worth and well merited
popularity.
HENRY C. LACY.
Among the early settlers of Michigan is
numered Henry C. Lacy, now living on section
36, Victor township. He is a well-to-do farmer
with a tract of eighty acres that is valuable be-
cause of the improvements he has placed upon
it and also by reason of the productiveness of
the fields. A resident of Michigan since 1839,
he is therefore familiar with its history from
territorial days down to the present and has
witnessed its wonderful transformation as it
has emerged from pioneer environment to be-
come a factor in the great sisterhood of states
and a leader in various lines of industrial prog-
ress. Mr. Lacy has been a resident of Clinton
county since 1868 and in community affairs has
manifested an active and helpful interest. Born
in Wyoming county, New York, on the 27th
of November, 1826, he is a son of Eli Lacy,
likewise a native of the Empire state. His
mother bore the maiden name of Mary Frank-
lin and was a native of Massachusetts. The
marriage of the parents was celebrated in New
York, and Eli Lacy followed farming in Wyo-
ming county until after the birth of five of their
sons. In 1839 he removed with his family to
Michigan, settling first in Oakland county,
where he later purchased land and developed
a farm, upon which he reared his children.
There he continued to live until called to the
home beyond.
Henry C. Lacy spent the greater part of his
childhood and youth in Oakland county, where
he was reared to farm life, remaining with his
father until he had attained his majority. He
then started out upon an active business career
as a farm hand, working by the month. For
one year he received one hundred and twenty-
eight dollars for his labor and saved out of
that sum one hundred dollars. As a com-
panion and helpmate on life's journey he chose
Miss Elizabeth Rice, and their marriage was
celebrated in Oakland county in 1850. She was
born at Boston, Massachusetts, but was reared
in Detroit, Michigan. Her father, Paul Rice,
was a business man first of Boston and later of
Detroit, while subsequently he became a farmer
of Oakland county.
Following his marriage Mr. Lacy engaged
in cultivating a farm which he owned in Oak-
land county, making his home there for several
years. Subsequently he removed to Shiawassee
county, where he became the owner of eighty
acres which he cultivated for four years and in
1868 he took up his abode in Victor township,
Clinton county, where he bought eighty acres
of land in the midst of the forest. Upon this
place stood a log house, while five acres of the
land had been cleared, but otherwise the farm
was entirely unimproved. Mr. Lacy at once be-
gan to clear and fence the property and develop
a farm according to modern methods and now
all is in a good state of cultivation. The place is
well fenced, the land has been made productive
through the routine of crops and the judicious
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
125
use of fertilizers, and now large crops are an-
nually gathered, and the improvements which
Mr. Lacy has placed upon the farm include a
neat residence and two good barns. He is to-
day a substantial farmer of Victor township
but when he started out in life for himself he
was a poor man with no capital and with naught
to aid him save his own labor and determi-
nation.
Mr. and Mrs. Lacy have three children: \V.
H., who is represented in this work; Nellie, the
wife of Payne Knight, a resident of Shiawassee
county; and Minnie, the wife of William
Houghton, of Chicago, by whom she has three
children, Earl D., Ray and Howard Hough-
ton. Mr. and Mrs. Lacy also lost a son, Henry,
who died at the age of ten years.
In his political affiliation Mr. Lacy was
originally a whig and upon the organization of
the republican party joined its ranks and in
i860 supported Lincoln but in recent years has
given his support to the democracy. He has
never been an office holder nor has he desired
political preferment. He deserves much praise
for what he has accomplished as his advance-
ment in the business world is due to no in-
herited fortune nor the aid of influential friends
but to labor that has been unremitting and
energy that never flags. He was one of the
first men to take up his abode in Michigan and
is now one of the few remaining early settlers.
His residence in this part of the state — in Oak-
land, Shiawassee and Clinton counties — covers
sixty-six years. He has seen the great forests
felled, the fields cleared and fenced, the towns
and cities built and many industrial and com-
mercial enterprises introduced, while the agri-
cultural development has shown the great fer-
tility and richness of the soil. He has broken
the wild land, cleared and fenced it, and in
early days did his farming with eight yoke of
oxen. He has helped substantially in the im-
provement and development of three counties
and while thus engaged he and his wife en-
dured many hardships and privations, but their
frugality, economy and capable management
have secured to them a very desirable com-
petence for old age. Mr. Lacy has now reached
the age of four score years but is still hale and
hearty and gives his personal supervision to his
farm.
JOHN E. HINKSON, B. S., M. D.
Dr. John E. Hinkson, successfully engaged
in the practice of medicine at Wacousta, is a
native of Amadore, Sanilac county, Michigan,
his birth having occurred upon a farm that his
grandfather, George Hinkson, had purchased
from the government and which is still in
possession of the family. His natal day was
December 18, 1870. The grandfather came of
an old Vermont family and removed to Canada.
His wife, Mrs. Farwell Hinkson, was born in
Paisley, Scotland. Their son, George Hink-
son, Jr., was born in Guelph, Ontario, and
married Miss Jane McCardle, also of that
locality. On coming to Michigan they settled
in Sanilac county and the father became not
only a successful agriculturist but also one of
the distinguished citizens of that locality, leav-
ing the impress of his views and life upon public
thought and action. He served as supervisor
of Worth township, Sanilac county, filling the
office for several terms and serving two terms
as chairman of the board, and in 1888 he was
elected to represent his district in the state legis-
lature. He died in the year 1903, at the age
of seventy-two years, and his wife passed away
in 1885, at the age of fifty-two years. In their
family were six children, of whom four are
living, one dying in infancy. Maria is the wife
of James W. Clyne, who resides on the old
homestead in Worth township, Sanilac county.
Margaret, the wife of McKinstry Burt, is a
graduate of the Farrand Training school, of
Detroit, and now living in Detroit, Michigan.
John E. of this review is the next of the family.
Bertha is a graduate of the Michigan Agri-
cultural College of the class of 1905. William
J. Hinkson, a brother of the Doctor, died in
October, 1891, of typhoid fever, at Harper
Hospital, when twenty-six years of age. He
was a graduate of the Michigan Agricultural
College and engineering department of the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and
was assistant bridge engineer of the Michigan
Central Railroad Company, being stationed at
Detroit at the time of his demise.
John E. Hinkson pursued his early education
in the district schools and in the fall of 1888
entered the Michigan Agricultural College,
from which he was graduated in June, 1892,
having pursued the full agricultural course, re-
ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. The
same year he entered the University of Michi-
gan, at Ann Arbor, and was graduated from
the medical department in 1895. In January,
1896, he located for practice at Wacousta,
where he has since remained, enjoying a liberal
anc' constantly increasing patronage. Having
an" >tion in a military direction Dr. Hinkson
in 1890 took the competitive examination for
West Point held at Lapeer, Michigan, winning
first rank in the mental examination, but fourth
in the physical, receiving the appointment as
alternate. Prior to entering upon his profes-
sional career Dr. Hinkson engaged in teaching
for two years in St. Clair county. His father
had been connected with educational work for
many years but the Doctor comes more par-
ticularly from a family of physicians. His
uncle, Irving McCardle, died while studying
medicine at Ann Arbor, while Alfred Hudson,
a cousin, is now a surgeon in the United States
Navy, and William Farwell, a cousin of the
Doctor's father, is at this time one of the med-
ical directors of the United States Navy.
When attending the Agricultural College Dr.
Hinkson was a member of the Eclectic Society;
a director in the Inter-Collegiate Athletic As-
sociation in 1892 and was president of the Ora-
torical Association the same year. In the line
of his profession he is connected with the Clin-
ton County Medical Society, the State Medical
Society and the American Medical Association.
He keeps in touch with the progress of the pro-
fession as investigation and research continu-
ally broaden the knowledge and promote the
efficiency of the medical fraternity.
On the 29th of April, 1896, Dr. Hinkson
was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Mack-
lem, of Croswell, Sanilac county, Michigan,
who died on the 6th of July of the same year.
On the 2d of October, 1897, he was united in
marriage to Miss Ida Love, of South Riley, and
they have one child, Alice B., who was born
January 17, 1899. Mrs. Hinkson' s great-
great-grandfather in the maternal line was a
cousin of William Penn.
In his fraternal relations Dr. Hinkson is a
Mason, having become a member of Lansing
lodge, No. 33, A. F. & A. M., in 1892. He
afterward attained the Royal Arch degree in
the chapter at Grand Ledge and is now master
of Wacousta lodge, No. 359, and worthy pat-
ron of the Eastern Star, chapter No. 133. He
likewise belongs to the Maccabees tent and the
Modern Woodmen camp, both of Wacousta,
and in both is examining physician. He is a
director of the Grand Ledge State Bank and
is especially interested in community affairs,
having for six years been secretary of the
school board of Wacousta, while in many
other ways he has materially aided in the ad-
vancement, upbuilding and welfare of his com-
munity. In politics he is a stalwart republican
and has served as a member of the township
and county committees.
ROBERT C. LOWE.
Robert C. Lowe is an active, energetic busi-
ness man who in former years was connected
with agricultural interests and later was a dealer
in hardware and implements at Maple Rapids.
He is a stockholder in the Independent Tele-
phone Company and his ready recognition and
utilization of business opportunities and his un-
faltering purpose have been the strong and
salient features in his successful career.
He is a native son of Duplain township, born
on the 14th of December, 1853. His father,
Nathan R. Lowe, first opened his eyes to the
light of day in Chemung county, New York, in
1800, and was a son of Cornelius Lowe. In the
state of his nativity he was reared and was
married three times, the second time being in
Clinton county when he wedded Mrs. Sarah
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MISS GLADYS C. LOWE.
MR. AND MRS. R. C. LOWE.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
129
Scott, nee Gilmore, a widow. She was born
in New York and reared and educated there.
The year 1838 witnessed the arrival of Nathan
R. Lowe in Michigan, at which time he pur-
chased a tract of raw land in the midst of the
forest in Duplain township, Clinton county,
near the colony. He cut a road through the
woods to his place, for at that time no highway
had been laid out. In fact the entire country-
side seemed just as it did when it came from
the hand of nature. The native forest trees
covered the district and the work of improve-
ment and progress had scarcely been begun. He
cleared and developed his farm there, having
three hundred and twenty acres of land, but
later he sold that property and removed to Essex
township, settling near the Lowe church, where
he owned and cultivated three hundred and
twenty acres of land, spending his remaining,
days there. His death occurred in 1873 and
thus passed away one of the honored pioneer
settlers of the county, a man whose efforts were
effective in transforming the pioneer region into
a district supplied with all the evidences of
a modern civilization.
Robert C. Lowe is one of the two sons born
of his father's second marriage and was reared
in Essex township, acquiring his education in
the common schools. He remained with his
father until his death and then started out in
life on his own account. Purchasing the in-
terest of the other heirs in the old homestead he
thus succeeded to the ownership of two hundred
and eighty acres of land. He engaged in farm-
ing, owning two places, and he improved the
property by the erection of attractive residences,
two good barns, a granary and other outbuild-
ings for the shelter of grain and stock. In his
farm work he is practical and systematic, his
labors being attended with a gratifying measure
of success. He continued in the active improve-
ment of the farm until the spring of 1897, wlien
he rented the place and removed to Maple
Rapids, where he has since resided. He still
owns, however, his large and well developed
farm property in Elba township, Gratiot county.
After taking up his abode in the village he en-
gaged in the hardware and implement business,
conducting his store with good success for five
years, but has since sold out. He is a stock-
holder in the Independent Telephone Company
and is regarded as a man of excellent business
ability and keen discernment, whose well con-
ducted labors have been the source of gratify-
ing prosperity.
On the 23d of December, 1881, in Essex
township, Mr. Lowe was married to Miss Net-
tie Bottum, a native of Essex township, where
she was reared and educated. For six years
she was a capable teacher of the county and
later served as school inspector for three years.
Her father, John R. Bottum, was one of the
early settlers of Michigan, who came to this
state from New York. He married Caroline
Clark, who was born and reared in Auburn,
New York, and was a sister of Jerome Clark.
Mr. and Mrs. Lowe became the parents of two
children but lost their infant son. The daugh-
ter, Gladys G, is yet at home. The parents and
daughter are members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church and Mr. Lowe is serving as one
of its officers, taking an active part in its work
and doing all in his power to extend its influ-
ence. The Lowe church was named in honor
of the family. He is a member of the Grange
and a number of farmers' clubs and takes an
active interest in all that pertains to the agri-
cultural development of this part of the state.
His political support has been given to the re-
publican party since age conferred upon him
the right of franchise. He has been elected
and served as township drain commissioner and
was chosen supervisor to fill out an unexpired
term. He has been a delegate to the county
conventions and is a firm believer in the prin-
ciples of his party. He is much interested in
general progress and improvement along all
lines relating to the material, intellectual, po-
litical and moral advancement of his community
and is known as a man of genuine, personal
worth as well as of good business ability that
has resulted in well merited prosperity. He and
his wife purchased nine acres of land in Maple
Rapids, which they laid out in town lots and
improved by the erection of good residences,
selling the property later at a handsome profit.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
They have a wide circle of warm friends and
enjoy the good will and trust of all with whom
they have been brought in contact.
JOHN LINK.
John Link, prominent in political circles of
Ovid, is now filling the positions of township
clerk and of village assessor and is also en-
gaged in the insurance business. He was born
in Flint township, Genesee county, Michigan,
February 3, 1843, and is descended from Ger-
man ancestry. His parents, John and Sarah
B. (Stanard) Link, were natives of Genesee
county, New York, and came to Michigan in
1837, settling in Flint township, Genesee
county. The father opened up a farm in the
midst of a tract of wild land and there spent
his remaining days. The brothers of the fam-
ily, five in number, went to various western
states and one of these, Emory Link, is now
living in Los Angeles, California, at the age
of seventy-nine years. John Link of this re-
view is one of a family of nine children and
those who still survive are Abram, who is liv-
ing in Flint township, Genesee county, Michi-
gan; John, of this review; Ambrose, who is
living in Flint, Michigan; Mary Jane, the wife
of Daniel Ryant, of Flint; Celestia, the widow
of Stephen McVane, of St. Louis, Michigan;
and Henrietta, the wife of Henry Parkhurst,
of Flint. Those deceased are: Milton H. ;
Francis M.; and Elizabeth, who was the wife
of George Adams, of Flint.
John Link received but a limited education,
remaining upon his father's farm until seven-
teen years of age. He then began working in
a machine shop at Flint but afterward returned
to the farm and when nineteen years of age
he enlisted on the 20th of June, 1862, as a
member of Company B, First Michigan Engi-
neers and Mechanics. He joined the army as
a private and was mustered in at Detroit. He
met his regiment at Louisville, Kentucky, and
participated in the engagements at Perryville,
Stone River, Chattanooga, Atlanta, the siege
of Savannah and Bentonville, although this
was not supposed to be a fighting regiment.
He was never wounded and was promoted to
the rank of corporal at Savannah, Georgia.
He participated in the entire Atlanta cam-
paign and was discharged at Washington, D.
C, being mustered out at Jackson, Michigan,
in June, 1865.
Mr. Link then made his way to Flint, Michi-
gan, and worked at the carpenter's trade until
1868, when he came to Ovid, where he con-
ducted a meat market, afterward following car-
pentering for four years. Later he became as-
sistant postmaster, serving in that capacity for
thirteen years from 1875 until 1888 under
Postmasters Mead, Cowan and Beattie. He
was afterward variously engaged, acting as
bookkeeper for some time for different firms.
Three years were thus passed and he was then
elected township treasurer of Ovid township
for a term of two years. Later he engaged in
the restaurant business but in 1895 was chosen
township clerk, was re-elected in 1896 and also
chosen the same year to the office of village
assessor. Since that time he has continuously
served in this office with the exception of two
years and is still holding both positions. In
politics he is a republican, likewise taking an
active part in the work and growth of the party.
He is likewise agent for the Queens, Indian-
apolis, Pennsylvania and German Alliance In-
surance Companies and the policies which he
annually writes represents a large figure.
On the 15th of February, 1872, Mr. Link
was married to Miss Jennie M. Tibbitts, a
daughter of Horace M. Tibbitts, of Fairfield,
Michigan, and they have one child, Charles W.,
of Detroit, who is superintendent of the De-
troit Motor Company. Mr. Link is a member
of the lodge and chapter of the Masonic fra-
ternity, having been made a Mason in 1865.
He has occupied various chairs in the order and
is now king of the chapter. He likewise be-
longs to the Grand Army post and was its com-
mander in 1897-8. He is worthy patron of the
Eastern Star and was a member of the relief
commission for fourteen years. In govern-
ment service, whether in military action or in
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
133
political office, he is always found loyal to the
trust reposed in him and to the position which
he takes.
JOSEPH ARENS.
Joseph Arens, now deceased, was for many
years a well known resident of Clinton county,
honored and respected by all who knew him.
He was born and reared on a farm within a
mile and a half of the village of Westphalia and
at the age of fourteen years left the old home-
stead and went to Detroit in order to pursue a
commercial course of study. After successfully
passing the examinations there he returned to
Westphalia, where he became bookkeeper for
Casper Rademacher, who was at that time con-
ducting a flourishing mercantile business at this
point. For five years Mr. Arens remained in
his employ, at the end of which time Mr. Rade-
macher failed in business. Mr. Arens then be-
came associated with his brother-in-law, Peter
Thome, and they purchased the brick store
building and the stock which was sold at the
assignee sale. They then entered upon what
proved to be a most successful business venture,
being accorded a liberal and extensive patron-
age. The partnership between them was con-
tinued until 1882, when Mr. Thome sold his
interest to John P. Arens and Joseph Bohr, now
deceased, the former a brother of our subject.
Subsequently Joseph Arens purchased the in-
terests of these two gentlemen and became sole
owner of the business. In 1885, however, he
entered into partnership with John P. Arens
and Joseph Bohr for the purpose of conduct-
ing an extensive creamery and later a fine cold
storage plant was added. The creamery has
been one of Westphalia's most flourishing in-
stitutions and has been of benefit to the locality
as well as to the proprietors, furnishing a
market for the farmers of the surrounding dis-
trict. The enterprise is now conducted by
Anthony P. Arens, a son of Joseph Arens. The
mercantile business, of which our subject was
so long the head, is also conducted under the
name of Joseph Arens, being at the present time
owned by the sons. For a long period Mr.
Arens was one of the most enterprising and
prominent business men of his locality, con-
stantly extending the scope of his labors and
successfully managing his invested interests, so
that he profited in all of his undertakings. He
passed away May 6, 1894, at the age of forty-
five years but the community still benefits by
the business inaugurated through his enterprise
and labor. His death resulted from an oper-
ation performed on the 7th of June, 1893, f°r
the removal of a tumor and the community
mourned the loss of one of its most honored
and representative citizens, a man whom to
know was to respect and esteem.
Mr. Arens in early manhood had wedded
Miss Mary Thome, and she is still living. She
was born in Westphalia and is yet associated
with her sons in the mercantile business. In
their family were seven children: Josephine,
now the wife of Michael Spitzley, of West-
phalia township; Augusta; Anthony P., who
is living in Westphalia ; William J. ; Rosa,
Anna and Joseph, all at home.
Anthony P. Arens, spending his boyhood
days under the parental roof, early became as-
sociated with his father in his business enter-
prises and is now conducting the Westphalia
Creamery. He was born September 23, 1879,
in the village of Westphalia, was educated in
the parochial school and afterward in Assump-
tion College at Sandwich, Ontario, and in the
Detroit Business University. He manifests ex-
cellent business ability and capacity in the con-
trol of his extensive interests and like his father
has made a creditable name for himself in busi-
ness circles. He was married October 14, 1902,
to Miss Regina Nau, a daughter of Constantine
Nau, of Westphalia, and their children are
Marion and Esther.
William J. Arens, another son of Joseph
Arens, is now assisting in the conduct of the
business interests left by his father. He was
born in Westphalia, July 7, 1881, and after at-
tending the parochial schools continued his edu-
cation in Assumption College at Sandwich and
in the Detroit Business University. In 1898
he then entered his father's store and has since
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
been connected with the conduct of the busi-
ness.
In the death of Joseph Arens there was not
a man in Westphalia but felt that he had sus-
tained a personal loss because he had been a
patron, benefactor and friend to all. He was
quiet and unassuming by nature but possessed
those qualities which never fail to manifest
themselves, being interwoven with the daily life
and conduct of the individual. He was ever
ready to help those who were willing to help
themselves and the laboring man found in him
a true friend. He desired the business ad-
vancement of the community and was ever
ready to encourage others or give to them ma-
terial assistance if needed. As a citizen he was
progressive, lending his support to any worthy
movement or plan for the upbuilding of the
community, while the extensive patronage that
his house received testified to his rare talents as
a man of business. In politics he was a demo-
crat and served as township clerk but preferred
to leave office holding to others. Of St. Mary's
Catholic church he was a devoted communicant
and at all times he furthered the material, in-
tellectual, social and moral welfare of his com-
munity. He stood as a strong man, strong in
his honor and good name and in his friendships
and his devotion to his family was one of the
sterling traits of his character.
WILBUR W. PECK.
Wilbur W. Peck, engaged in the livery busi-
ness in St. Johns, is a native of Streetsboro,
Ohio, born February n, 1856, and traces his
ancestry back to the band of Puritans who came
to America on the Mayflower. His parents,
Horace and Ann (Rich) Peck, were natives of
Connecticut and Ohio, respectively. The father
is a tailor by trade and in 1865 removed to
Michigan, settling in Allegan county, where for
a time he engaged in farming. Later he con-
ducted a boot and shoe business in connection
with his son, R. R. Peck, until 1876, when he
took up his abode in Grand Traverse county,
where he joined his son, A. W. Peck, in the con-
duct of a drug store. A few years later, how-
ever, he sold out there and removed to Walker-
ville, Michigan, where he owned and conducted
a shoe store until 1900, when he once more sold
out and retired from active business life. His
wife passed away about twenty years ago. In
their family were four sons : Horace L., a hard-
ware salesman living in Ionia, Michigan;
Romenzo R., a shoe merchant at South Bend,
Indiana; Wilbur W. ; and Albert W., of
Traverse City, Michigan, who is traveling for
the Hazelton Drug Company, of Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
Wilbur W. Peck was a student in the public
schools until sixteen years of age, when, enter-
ing upon his business career, he secured a posi-
tion as salesman in a book store, clerking for
seventy-five dollars per year and his board. He
afterward accepted a similar position in a gro-
cery store in Allegan, Michigan, where he re-
mained for four years and subsequently was a
clerk in a dry-goods and clothing store, hav-
ing charge of the dress goods department. That
work was followed by his management of the
clothing store of George B. Kellogg in Allegan,
Michigan, of which he had charge for four
years. On the expiration of that period he
entered into partnership with his brother, R. R.
Peck, in the conduct of a dry-goods and clothing
store at South Boardman, Michigan. After two
years Wilbur W. Peck purchased his brother's
interest, carrying on business for eight years
longer, when he sold out and located at Ionia,
Michigan, where he conducted a shoe store for
two years. Again disposing of his mercantile
interests he went upon the road as a traveling
salesman for the shoe house of Phelps, Dodge
& Palmer, of Chicago, whom he represented for
two years. His residence in St. Johns dates
from 1897, at which time he formed a partner-
ship with J. T. Webber under the firm name
of Webber & Peck, clothing merchants, and
when that relation was discontinued Mr. Peck
gave his attention to the real-estate business,
being connected for a brief period with J. C.
Flynn. He then engaged in the conduct of a
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
135
livery barn of which he is still proprietor, buy-
ing out the stable of B. F. Scofield on Higham
street west. He has since continued the busi-
ness and has a most up-to-date establishment
with all modern equipments, including a fine
line of rubber tired vehicles and a large num-
ber of good horses. His desire to please his
patrons combined with straightforward busi-
ness methods have secured him a good patron-
age.
Mr. Peck exercises his right of franchise in
support of the men and measures of the re-
publican party and in his social affiliations is a
Knight of Pythias. Pleasantly situated in his
domestic relations, he was married on the 10th
of September, 1878, to Miss Luella A. Taylor,
a daughter of Benjamin H. and Emaline (Ter-
rill) Taylor, of Allegan, Michigan. Both the
Taylor and Terrill families were originally
from New York and Mrs. Peck is a native of
Elyria, Ohio. By this marriage there is one
living child, Hazel L., while the son, Benjamin
Floyd, died in 1883, at the age of three years.
Mr. Peck is recognized as an active and enter-
prising business man and his success is attribut-
able entirely to his own efforts.
WILL H. BRUNSON.
Will H. Brunson, a member of the Clinton
county bar now serving for the second term
as postmaster at St. Johns and a recognized
leader in local political circles, is numbered
among the native sons of Clinton county, his
birth having occurred in Victor on the 8th of
March, 1858. His parents were William and
Mary A. (Pierce) Brunson, both of whom were
natives of East Bloomfield, New York. Com-
ing to Michigan during the pioneer epoch in
the history of Clinton county, they settled in
Victor in September, 1843, before the city of
St. Johns was established. Taking up their
abode in the midst of a heavily wooded district
the father cleared and improved a tract of land.
The Indians were yet numerous in this part of
the state and wolves and bears were killed in the
9
forest. Deer and other wild game could be
had in abundance and often furnished a meal
for the settlers when otherwise the larder would
have been of meager proportions. Mr. Brun-
son performed the arduous task of developing
a new farm and reared his family in Victor.
He died in 1893, at the age of seventy-two
years, and his wife's death occurred in 1891,
when she was seventy years of age. In their
family were five children, the surviving daugh-
ter being Sarah, the widow of Addison Whee-
lock, of New York.
Will H. Brunson, the youngest member of
the family, was a public-school student in St.
Johns, continuing his education there until he
had mastered the branches constituting the cur-
riculum of the high-school course. Attracted to
the profession of law he prepared for the bar
in the University of Michigan, completing the
course in the law department with the class of
1886. He paid all his own expenses while at
college, having previously earned the money
for that purpose. For a time he was engaged
in teaching, spending four years in the schools
of St. Johns and one year as principal of the
Dewitt high school. Becoming a member of
the Clinton county bar, he was associated with
Judge Daboll under the firm style of Daboll &
Brunson for six years, a constantly growing
clientage connecting him with important liti-
gated interests. He was for ten years, from
1892 until 1902, city attorney for St. Johns,
during which time one of the most important
cases in the history of the city was tried, Mr.
Brunson representing the city in a suit against
the St. Johns water works for damage caused
by the smoke nuisance created by the water
works plant. This case was won by him for
the city. Following the dissolution of his part-
nership with Judge Daboll Mr. Brunson was
with William A. Norton as a member of the
firm of Norton & Brunson for two years and
since that time has been alone in practice here.
Active and prominent in his profession, Mr.
Brunson is perhaps equally well known because
of his connection and influence with political
interests. In 1899 he was appointed postmaster
by President McKinley and by re-appointment
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
of President Roosevelt has since been in the
office, The postal system and postoffice man-
agement have been greatly improved under his
administration. The postoffice building has
been enlarged through an extension of forty
feet and a vault has been added, while there has
been a considerable increase in the number of
employes. The sales of the office in 1899
amounted to eight thousand dollars and at the
present time have reached thirteen thousand
dollars. Mr. Brunson has been the promoter
of the rural delivery system for this locality and
his services in the office which he is now filling
are greatly appreciated by the public, who
recognize his efficiency, ability and the value of
his work. He has been active in campaigns
since 1886, has been secretary of the repub-
lican county central committee and has served
on the township, city, congressional and sena-
torial committees, being now a member of the
county and congressional central committees.
He is well fitted for leadership and has done
much to mold public thought and action, his
opinions carrying weight in the councils of his
party.
On the 14th of June, 1888, Mr. Brunson was
married to Miss Elizabeth Finch, a daughter
of Peter and Mary Finch, who were residents
of Greenbush township, Clinton county, and
are now deceased, her father having died when
she was but four years of age. They have
one son, Laurence W. Mr. Brunson belongs
to the Masonic and Knights of Pythias fra-
ternities. He is a man of fine physique, of
generous disposition and a kindly spirit and
ranks high in the regard of his fellow towns-
men.
DANIEL PERKINS.
Daniel Perkins, living on section 8, Duplain
township, is a thrifty and prosperous farmer
whose well improved tract of land of eighty-
five acres indicates his careful supervision. His
birth occurred in Victor township, this county,
on the 20th of June, 1857, n*s parents being J.
Y. and Polly (Le Bar) Perkins. The father
was born in Steuben county, New York, in
1823, was reared there and when a young man
came to Michigan in 1844, locating in Victor
township, Clinton county, among its pioneer
settlers. He was married here and opened up
a farm, upon which he reared his family and
spent many years. His death, however, occurred
in Laingsburg, in 1903, while his wife passed
away in 1899. To them were born five chil-
dren, four sons and one daughter, all of whom
are living.
Daniel Perkins, the second oldest, was reared
upon the old homestead in Victor township,
becoming familiar with all the duties and labors
that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. After
attaining his majority he removed to the farm
upon which he now resides and which at that
time was in the midst of a dense forest. There
were no roads to the place and no improvements
had been made but he at once began to cut
down the trees and clear away the brush and
in the course of time prepared the land for
cultivation. He has now cleared the greater
part of the farm and indeed has a valuable and
productive property in the midst of which stands
a good two-story residence. There is also a
barn, windpump, an orchard and in fact all of
the equipments and accessories found upon a
model farm of the twentieth century. The soil
is productive and yields good crops and in addi-
tion to the cultivation of the fields Mr. Perkins
also raises good stock.
In Ovid township, on the 18th of May, 1880,
Mr. Perkins was married to Miss Jenette Beech,
a daughter of John Beech, one of the first set-
tlers of the county, represented elsewhere in this
work. Mrs. Perkins was born in White Oak
township, Ingham county, but was reared in
Victor township, this county. Two children
have been born of this union who are yet liv-
ing: Mary, the wife of Alfred E. Jeffers, of
Greenbush township, by whom she has two chil-
dren, Donald and Doris, twins; and Jesse, who
married Irene Angles and has a daughter,
Blanche Ruth, and is living on the home farm,
assisting his father in its improvement. Mr.
and Mrs. Perkins also lost a daughter, Nellie,
who died in infancy. They have given their
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MR. AND MRS. DANIEL PERKINS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
139
children good educational advantages and have
also started them well on the journey of life.
Mr. Perkins exercises his right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the re-
publican party but has never sought or desired
office for himself. He is a member of the local
Grange, and his son belongs to the Modern
Woodmen camp. His entire life has been de-
voted to agricultural pursuits and for forty-
eight years he has been a resident of Clinton
county, so that he is largely familiar with the
history of its development and improvement.
SETH MAGEE COOK.
Seth Magee Cook, following the occupation
of farming for many years in Clinton county,
so that his present rest from labor is well earned
and richly deserved, is now living retired in
Hewitt, where he has made his home for the
past twelve years. He owns a farm of one
hundred and twenty acres in Watertown town-
ship and dates his residence in the state from
1844 and in Clinton county from 1855. He
was bom in Steuben county, New York, Oc-
tober 28, 1830, and came of English lineage.
His paternal grandfather, Samuel Cook, was
one of the early residents of the Empire state
and there Anson Cook, the father, was born and
reared. After reaching adult age he married
Anna Wheeler, who wras born in New Hamp-
shire. In order to provide for his family he
followed the occupation of farming, living for
some years in Steuben county and ultimately
taking up his abode in Monroe county, where
he resided for a few years. In 1844 he came
to Michigan, settling in Hillsdale county upon
the farm which continued to be his place of resi-
dence until his life's labors were ended in death.
His wife survived him for only a few years.
Seth M. Cook is one of the family of four
sons and two daughters, all of whom reached
maturity. His brother is Emery A. Cook, who
is living retired in Litchfield. His sister, Mary
L., is now Mrs. Tracy, a widow living in
Quincy township, Branch county, Michigan.
Seth M. Cook, of this review, was reared to
manhood in Hillsdale county, where he arrived
when fourteen years of age. There he re-
mained until after the discovery of gold in Cali-
fornia when, with the hope of rapidly realizing
a fortune on the Pacific coast, he went to the
far west in 185 1, crossing the plains with
teams. The journey consumed four months but
at last the travelers were gladdened by a sight
of the green valleys of the Golden state. While
in California Mr. Cook engaged in a search for
the yellow metal and spent four years in mining
with fair success, after which he returned to
Michigan by way of the Isthmus of Panama
and New York city, arriving at his home in
Hillsdale county in 1855. Later in that year
he came to Clinton county, where he purchased
a tract of wild land on section 2, Watertown
township, heavily covered with timber. He at
once began the difficult task of cutting down
the trees and clearing the land for cultivation,
and his persistent energy and labors at length
triumphed over the difficulties in his way until
he had opened up and improved a valuable
farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He
erected on this a good residence, substantial
barns, built fences, planted fruit trees and in
fact made the property a very productive and
valuable farm. In the early years of his resi-
dence here he taught school in the winter
months of 1855-56-57 in Watertown.
On the 28th of December, 1857, Mr. Cook
was married to Miss Emily J. Smith, a native
of New York. She became a teacher of Michi-
gan, successfully following the profession prior
to her marriage. Her father, William Smith,
was likewise born in the Empire state, where
he was reared to manhood and then married
Pamelia Van Ness, also a native of New York.
About 1837 he came to the west, settling in
Hillsdale among its pioneer residents. The
Indians still lived in that part of the state and
every evidence of pioneer life was to be seen.
It was four miles to the nearest neighbor and
the entire district was thickly covered with tim-
ber. Mr. Smith, however, hewed out a nice
farm in the midst of the forest, on which he
reared his family and spent his remaining days,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
his death there occurring about 1897, when he
had reached the advanced age of eighty-nine
years, while his wife survived him for two
years. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have become the
parents of a daughter, Julia, who is now the
wife of George C. Higbee, circuit court re-
porter and stenographer at Marquette, Michi-
gan.
Politically Mr. Cook is a stanch republican
where national issues are involved. He cast his
first presidential ballot for Franklin Pierce in
1852 and then, becoming deeply interested in
the issues which gave rise to the new republican
party, he supported its first candidate, John C.
Fremont, in 1856. In local affairs he has been
prominent and helpful, has served as school in-
spector for several years, has been highway
commissioner and has been a delegate to the
county conventions of his party. He holds
membership in the Methodist Episcopal church,
of which he is one of the trustees and class
leader, while his wife is a member of the Con-
gregational church and both are earnest Chris-
tian people, enjoying in high measure the es-
teem and good will of those who know them.
While living retired, Mr. Cook raises some
garden products, keeping his place in excellent
condition. He is a member of the board of
review and is a citizen of worth, who for a half
century has lived in Clinton county and has
guided his life by honorable upright principles.
ROBERT HYSLOP.
Robert Hyslop, proprietor of the Ovid Roller
Mills and thus closely identified with the in-
dustrial interests of the county, is a native of
Scotland, born on the 17th of September, 1849.
His father, Thomas Hyslop, formerly a resident
of Walkerton, Ontario, is also a native of Scot-
land and when his son Robert was five years
of age crossed the Atlantic with his family to
Canada. Robert there remained until eighteen
years of age, during which time he acquired
only a limited education. He then made his
way into the United States and secured em-
ployment on a farm in Hillsdale county, Michi-
gan. Later he worked at coopering for a few
years. In 1878 he entered upon an apprentice-
ship to the milling business at South Allen,
Hillsdale county, and in 1887 removed to
Ouincy, Branch county, Michigan, where he
built a mill in partnership with Felix A. Mc-
Kenzie, conducting this under the firm style of
McKenzie and Hyslop. The partnership was
terminated in 1894, and after one year Mr. Hy-
slop came to Ovid and in October, 1895, here
purchased the business of the Farmer Milling
Company near Maple river. In the summer of
1899 he built a new mill on the old mill lot near
the Grand Trunk Railway. The main struc-
ture is thirty-six by forty-eight feet and three
stories in height and there is a ten-foot base-
ment, while the boiler and engine room is thirty
by forty-two feet and the capacity is one hun-
dred barrels every twenty-four hours. The
plant is fully equipped with a complete roller
process and the sifter system of bolting flour
is used. The plant is operated by a one hun-
dred and twenty-five horse power Corliss
engine and the output of the mill finds a ready
sale upon the market. Mr. Hyslop is also pro-
prietor of an elevator and is engaged in the
sale of coal, wood, cement and plaster. He thus
has varied business operations and is one of the
enterprising and representative men of Ovid,
his carefully conducted interests bringing him
a gratifying measure of prosperity.
In his social relations Mr. Hyslop is an Odd
Fellow and is also connected writh the Ancient
Order of United Workmen. His political al-
legiance is given to the democracy and for six
years he served as alderman. He has always
taken an active and helpful part in advancing
the welfare and progress of his community but
his time is largely concentrated upon the con-
duct of his business interests, in which he is
meeting with creditable success.
In 1874 Robert Hyslop was united in mar-
riage to Miss Elizabeth Ann Hicks, a daughter
of Thomas Hicks, of Allen, Hillsdale county,
Michigan. They now have a son and daughter,
Tom H. and Bessie E., the latter the wife of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
141
Harold B. Martin, of Ovid, who is assisting in
the mill and elevator business here.
Tom H. Hyslop, the son, now actively as-
sociated with his father in business, was born
September 5, 1876, and for ten years, or since
1895, has been connected with the operation
of the mill and the conduct of the other busi-
ness interests which claim the time and atten-
tion of his father. The son was married on the
28th of August, 1898, to Miss Emma Brown,
a daughter of Fred L. and Sarah Brown, of
Ovid, and they have two interesting children,
Robert Elliot and Marian Louise. The father
and son now occupy enviable positions in busi-
ues circles and their enterprise and energy con-
tribute in substantial measure to the commercial
prosperity of Ovid as well as to their individual
success.
L. G. BATES.
L. G. Bates, carrying on general merchandis-
ing in Elsie, is one of the prominent business
men of Clinton county, having for a third of
a century been closely associated with com-
mercial interests in this place. He was born in
Litchfield, Ohio, October 13, 1847, his parents
being George W. and Emily (Robinson) Bates.
The father, a native of Norwich, Connecticut,
Avas born in 1823 and was a son of George W.
Bates, Sr., one of the early residents of the
Charter Oak state, who in 1828 removed with
his family to Ohio, settling in Medina county.
Later the family home was established in Sum-
mit county, where George W. Bates, Jr., was
reared to manhood. He was left an orphan at
the early age of nine years and was largely de-
pendent upon his own resources from that time
forward. In Summit county he married Miss
Emily Robinson, a native of Ohio, and with the
added impetus of providing for his home he
began business as a harnessmaker, which pur-
suit he followed for a number of years. Two
children were added to the household before
the parents left Ohio. In 1855 they came to
Michigan, settling first in Fairfield, Shiawassee
county. The father rented land and was thus
engaged in farming for eight years or until
1863, when he came to Clinton county and es-
tablished a harness business in Elsie, conducting
the enterprise for five years. His death oc-
curred here in 1901, while his wife passed away
in 1899. In their family were four children,
of whom L. G. is the eldest. The others are:
Lizzie, now the wife of Charles Clement, of
Clinton county; Charles H., who is a farmer
living at Victory ville, Michigan; and Leon,
who resides in Shepherd, Michigan.
L. G. Bates was a youth of eight years when
brought by his parents to Michigan and his edu-
cation was acquired in the public schools of this
state. He has, however, largely supplemented
his early school training by lessons gained in
the school of experience. He remained with
his father until about eighteen years of age,
after which he went to Ohio, where he learned
the harnessmaking trade, serving an apprentice-
ship of three years. Subsequently he worked
with his father in Elsie and afterward formed
a business connection with Joseph P. Hasty.
They opened a stock of general merchandise in
Elsie, but subsequently Mr. Bates purchased his
partner's interest and has since continued in the
business alone. He has erected a large two-
story brick block, one of the best business
houses of the town and carries a large and well
selected line of general merchandise, having
built up an extensive trade which makes his
venture a profitable and gratifying one.
On the 28th of May, 1873, Mr. Bates was
united in marriage to Miss Amanda Sickles, a
native of Clinton county, born and reared in
Elsie. Her father, Job D. Sickles, was one of
the early residents of this part of the state and
served as a member of the county board, being
supervisor for a number of years. In the fam-
ily of Mr. and Mrs. Bates are five children, four
sons and a daughter: Clare G., who is now a
practicing dentist of Durand, Michigan; Clyde
D., who is married and is engaged in business
with his father; Bion L., who is a graduate of
Ann Arbor University and is practicing
dentistry in Elsie; Harold, at home; and Ruth
E., who completes the family.
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142
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Mr. Bates takes an active interest in public
affairs and is the champion of many progressive
measures that have been of marked value to his
community. He is a lifelong republican, his first
presidential vote being cast for General U. S.
Grant in 1868, since which time he has supported
each nominee of the party at the head of its
ticket. In local political circles he has been in-
fluential and was elected and served for two
or three years as township clerk and later by
re-election was continued in the office of super-
visor for fifteen years, acting as chairman of
the board for one term. He was also chairman
of a number of important committees and did
effective and able service for his county in the
discharge of his duties. He has also been presi-
dent of the village board for two terms and has
frequently been a delegate to county and state
conventions. Fraternally he is a Master Mason,
has filled various offices in the lodge and is now
a past master. Both he and his wife are con-
nected with the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr.
Bates has been a resident of the state since
1855, covering a half century, and is therefore
largely familiar with the history of Clinton
county. He entered upon his business career to
find that in the work-a-day world there is ample
opportunity for the exercise of one's talents and
energies. As the years have gone by he has
carefully directed his labors with due regard to
the rights of his fellowmen as well as to his
individual success and in the management of
his mercantile interests he has made his place of
business of value to the local public as well as
a gratifying source of revenue.
CHARLES S. WILLIAMS.
Among the prominent and representative
citizens of Clinton county is numbered Charles
S. Williams, living on section 1, Bingham
township. He was born in Northampton
county, Pennsylvania, March 19, 1832, and is
a son of John and Mary (Le Van) Williams,
both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania.
The paternal grandfather, Charles Williams,
was a native of New Hampshire and a descend-
ant of Roger Williams, of Rhode Island. In
early life he learned the carpenter's trade and
removed to Pennsylvania in which state he mar-
ried a Miss Gernard, a descendant of an old
Holland family, of which a genealogical rec-
ord has recently been prepared and published in
book form. At one time they were visited by
his two brothers from Spafford, New Hamp-
shire. The grandfather took an active part in
the progress and upbuilding of the church and
his life was exemplary in its fidelity to honor-
able principles. He departed this life in i'8i8,
and his wife passed away in 1861.
John Williams, the father of our subject,
was born in 1809 and in the Keystone state
learned and followed the blacksmith's trade for
seven years, at the end of which time he re-
moved to a farm, whereon he resided until
1 84 1. In that year he accompanied his mother
to Niagara county, New York, the journey be-
ing made in covered wagons across the Alle-
ghany mountains, it requiring twelve days to
complete the trip. John Williams then entered
land in Cambria township and followed farm-
ing until his death, which occurred December
31, 1883. He had long survived his wife,
who died in 1846, leaving two sons and a
daughter, namely: Charles S.; Theodore C,
who is living in Cambria township; and Mrs.
Mary Lucinda Newman, who resides upon the
old homestead farm in that township.
Charles S. Williams began his education in
the public schools of Pekin, Niagara county,
New York, and afterward attended the Wil-
son Collegiate Institute, where he made rapid
progress in his work, displaying special apti-
tude in his studies. He was graduated in 1855
and during his college days was president of
the Alpha Phi Society and was classed as one
of the strongest debaters of the school, for which
reason he was selected to give an address at the
Philadelphia meeting. In the spring of 1856
he entered the law office of Wood & Murry,
at Lockport, New York, where he did clerical
work and the same time took up the study of
Blackstone, Kent's Commentaries and the his-
tory of England by Hume and Macaulay, but
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CHARLES S. WILLIAMS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
145
the following spring his uncle, Charles C. Wil-
liams, died and he went to live with his grand-
mother, remaining with her until her death in
1 86 1. He never resumed his law studies.
When nineteen years of age he began teaching,
following the profession for ten years. After
his marriage he operated his father-in-law's
farm on the shares, being connected with its
improvement until 1864, when in the fall he
answered to the call to arms, enlisting in the
Eighteenth New York Battery known as the
Black Horse Battery under Captain Mack.
Soon afterward this command was ordered to
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they remained
until February of the following year and then
marched to Naby Cave at the mouth of Mobile
bay. On the 17th of the following month they
began a long and hard march to Spanish Fort,
where they joined General Canby's division
and for fourteen days were under constant fire
almost day and night, at the end of which time
the enemy evacuated the fort. The Union
troops then marched to Fort Blakely but Mr.
William's command was too late to participate
in the engagement there but afterward did skir-
mish duty at Mobile City, following the enemy
to Mcintosh Bluff, where the Confederates had
a naval station. There they captured the fleet
of five gunboats, which were used to transport
the Union troops back to Mobile City, where
they were greeted with the joyful news that the
war was ended.
Mr. Williams received an honorable dis-
charge in that city and started at once for
home, taking a boat at New Orleans and land-
ing at New York in July. After spending a
week with friends in that city he reached his
destination on the 31st of July and thus was
closed a chapter of hardships and trials in his
life history which included many important
battles and that left him impaired in health so
that the government now grants him a pension
in recognition of his services.
Having decided to come to Michigan, Mr.
Williams made his way to Clinton county and
purchased the Deacon Harrison farm of forty
acres on section 1, Bingham township, where a
small clearing had been made. From Elsie he
hauled the lumber used in building the first
house and afterward he returned to New York
and brought his wife and family to the new
home which he had prepared. Here he has
since lived, making improvements on the farm,
to which he added until he became owner of
tw*) hundred and ten acres, forty acres of* which
he has deeded to his son William A.
On the 24th of September, i860, Mr. Wil-
liams was married to Miss Mary Jane Kelsey,
the eldest daughter of William Kelsey, one of
the oldest merchants of Niagara county, New
York. They had three children, of whom Wil-
liam A. is now living. The others were E.
Everett, who died in 1867; and one child that
died in infancy, while the wife and mother
passed away in November, 1904. William A.
Williams has now assumed the responsibility
of carrying on the work of the entire farm and
although he maintains his residence in St. Johns
he spends most of his time with his father since
his mother's death. He married Miss Mary L.
Lapham, a daughter of Nathaniel Lapham, one
of the early settlers of the township and there
is one child of this marriage, Gertrude.
Mrs. C. S. Williams was born in Niagara
county, New York, August 1, 1837, and was
always a cheerful companion and helpmate to
her husband. It was with a brave heart and
courageous purpose that she undertook the care
of her family while her young husband was in
the army and she suffered much during a severe
and cold winter, wood being very scarce, and
but for the kindly offices of a friendly Indian
would have been without a fire, the red man
bringing her a load of hickory chips, for which
he would take no pay. Provisions were also
high but she bravely kept up the struggle until
her husband's return from the army. She was
a great lover of music, in which she had been
educated, and she also had the strongest at-
tachment for all that is beautiful in nature,
spending many hours amid both wild and culti-
vated flowers. Her tastes were of the most re-
fined and intelligent character and her influence
was beneficial in religious and social circles in
her immediate neighborhood. She was always
deeply interested in the young and their
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146
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
pleasures and she had no truer or warmer
friends than among the young people. On the
4th of July, 1904, she became ill and lingered
until Thanksgiving day, when she passed from
this life, her death being the occasion of deep
and wide-spread regret.
Mr. Williams is a stanch democrat and has
never failed to cast a ballot at a presidential
election since giving his first vote to Franklin
Pierce. He was a loyal soldier of the Civil
war, has ever been a supporter of progressive
public measures, and is widely known and
honored in the county where he has now made
his home for almost forty years.
THEODORE H. COX.
Theodore H. Cox, whose home on section
13, Essex township, is a well improved farm of
one hundred acres, was born in Lenawee county,
Michigan, October 29, 1839, his birthplace
being his father's farm in the township of
Ridgeway. He is a son of John Cox, a na-
tive of Pennsylvania, born and reared in Bucks
county, where he was also married to Miss
Jane Thompson, likewise a native of that state.
He came to the west with his family about
1830 and was one of the first settlers of Lena-
wee county, where he carried on general agri-
cultural pursuits. He aided in the early de-
velopment and success of the state and witnessed
its progress as it emerged from pioneer condi-
tions and took on all of the evidences of an
advanced civilization. There he reared his
family and spent his remaining days, his chil-
dren being nine in number, of whom five are
yet living.
Theodore H. Cox spent the greater part of
his youth in Lenawee county. He is largely
a self-made man who has continually broad-
ened his knowledge through reading and in-
vestigation. He remained with his father until
he had attained his majority and assisted him
in the operation of the home farm. His entire
life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits
and his judgment is sound on all matters con-
nected with the tilling of the soil and the matter
of stock.
In December, 1866, in Lenawee county, Mr.
Cox was united in marriage to Miss Sarah
Freer, a native of that county, where her girl-
hood days were passed. Her father, J. C. Freer,
was likewise a native of Michigan. In the
autumn prior to his marriage Mr. Cox visited
Clinton county and purchased eighty acres of
land in the midst of the forest. The following
spring he took up his abode thereon and began
clearing and cultivating the fields. Having cut
down the trees he placed the land under the
plow and in due course of time garnered rich
harvests, which were indicative of the care and
labor he bestowed upon the fields. The land
is now clear of stumps, is well fenced and in
fact constitutes a highly cultivated farm. To
his original purchase he added twenty acres so
that he now has a good farm of one hundred
acres. For twenty-six years he lived in a log
house but now owns and occupies a large brick
residence, which is one of the best farm houses
in this part of the county. He has also built
a commodious and substantial barn, has put
up a windpump, has planted a good orchard
and has added other improvements. There are
no weeds growing along the wayside or in the
fields and there is a notable absence of the
Canada thistle. The farm is indeed neat and
thrifty in appearance and everything about the
place is indicative of the careful supervision
of a careful and progressive owner. He care-
fully tills the soil and also raises sheep, and
both branches of his business are proving a
good source of income. He takes great pride
in keeping the farm in good condition, the
fence corners and roadsides being free of weeds,
while the fields promise golden harvests and the
stock shows his care.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cox have been born
seven children : Alzina, now the wife of Burton
McNaughton; Jennie, the wife of Adelbert
Blackney; Lewis, a farmer of Essex; Frank
and Ed, twins, who are married and follow
farming in Essex township; Hattie, the wife
of Frank Snyder, of Owosso; and Mrs. Nina
Ryan, living in Ovid.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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When age conferred upon Mr. Cox the right
of franchise he proudly cast his first presidential
vote for Abraham Lincoln in i860 and has
never failed to support each presidential candi-
date of the party since that time. He has never
sought or desired office, preferring to give his
undivided attention to his business affairs, and
he has worked hard and persistently as the years
have gone by but his labors have been crowned
with success.
JAMES MONTAGUE.
James Montague, deceased, who in his busi-
ness and private life won the respect and con-
fidence of his fellowmen and became known as
a representative citizen of Clinton county, was
born in Middlesex, Canada, March 30, 1847,
his parents being William and Mary Elizabeth
(St. Clair) Montague. The mother was a
native of Canada and represented families of
English lineage. William Montague, however,
was from Maine.
When seventeen years of age James Mon-
tague came to Clinton county and settled in
the village of Ovid, where he followed the
blacksmith's trade until twenty-six years of
age. He then married and located on section
24, Olive township, near the town line between
Olive and Victor, having there eighty acres of
land. He also had eighty acres of unimproved
land on section 7, Victor township. Only ten
acres of his home farm had been cleared when
he took possession of the place. He remained
on the farm for about three years, during which
time he cleared fifty acres. He then sold the
property and on the 8th of March, 1877, re-
moved to Sciota township, Shiawassee county,
where he remained until March 14, 1878, when
he sold that property and came to the farm
on section 8, Victor township, Clinton county,
on which his widow now resides. Here he se-
cured one hundred and twenty acres of land
which was partially cleared and he made the
farm his home throughout his remaining days.
He also added a tract of eighty acres so that
at the time of his death his realty possessions
were represented by a valuable farm property
of two hundred acres. He built numerous out-
buildings upon his place and added all modern
equipments and accessories, carrying forward
his farm work along progressive lines that re-
sulted in the acquirement of a handsome com-
petence. He was very careful and painstaking
in all his business affairs and in his public duties
as well.
On the 8th of March, 1873, Mr! Montague
was married to Miss Harriet Parker, a daugh-
ter of John and Sarah (Cronkite) Parker, the
former a native of New Jersey and the latter
of New York. They came in 1837 to Michi-
gan, settling in Laingsburg. This was the year
in which the state was admitted to the Union.
The father spent his remaining days upon a
farm in that locality, passing away in 1863, at
the age of fifty-eight years. His wife departed
this life in 190 t, at the age of eighty-six years.
In their family were thirteen children, of whom
seven are yet living. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mon-
tague were born six children: James Wesley,
who was married, February 19, 1902, to Delia
E. Shumaker, by whom he has two children,
Blanche Mourea and Evora Irene, and they are
now living on section 9, Victor township;
Henry N., who was married, March 12, 1901,
to Lizzie Eiseman and resides upon the home-
stead farm; Rubie, the wife of Daniel Shu-
maker, of Olive township; Fonda Ethel, at
home; and Sarah Cressy and John C, twins,
at home. At the wedding of Mr. and Mrs.
Shumaker, January 26, 1905, the guests were
served with strawberries that had been canned
almost twenty-six years and were pronounced
delicious. It was at the request of her father
that the berries were saved for that occasion and
although he did not live to be present his wishes
were carried out.
Mr. Montague was a stanch republican in
politics and at one time served as treasurer of
his township. He was also United States juror
in Detroit for two weeks in September, 1899.
He was always loyal to the trust reposed in
him whether of a public or private nature and
he lived an upright, honorable life that won him
the respect and confidence of his fellowmen. He
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
passed away March 21, 1900, after an illness
of five days, respected by all who knew him,
and his loss was deeply regretted by many
friends as well as his immediate family.
Since her husband's death Mrs. Montague
has erected her present residence and also the
barns upon the place and has bought eighty acres
of land additional on section 9, Victor town-
ship. She also bought eighty-two acres on sec-
tion 10, Olive township, for her daughter
Rubie. She has superior business qualifications
as is shown in the management of her valuable
farming property and at the same time she has
the social qualities which have endeared her to
a large circle of friends, making her a welcome
visitor in many of the best homes of the county.
JAMES J. WARREN.
James J. Warren, living in Greenbush town-
ship, has been a resident of Michigan since
1856 and of Clinton county since 1859. His
birth occurred in Orleans county, New York,
August 6, 1839, his parents being Seth and
Catherine (Johnston) Warren. The maternal
grandfather was in the commissary department
during the Revolutionary war and a butcher
by trade, following that pursuit in western New
York. He continued a resident of the Em-
pire state until his death. The father was a
native of New York and in 1856 removed west-
ward to Owosso township, Shiawassee county,
Michigan, where he purchased a partially
cleared farm and thereon spent his remaining
days. His wife was twice married and as Mrs
Catherine Hall became the mother of two chil-
dren, both of whom are deceased, William Hall
having died in Bancroft, his remains being in-
terred in Owosso, while Mrs. Jane Munger died
in Tennessee. The children of the second mar-
riage, two daughters and one son, are: Mrs.
George R. Warren, of Shiawassee county;
James J.; and Caroline, who died in Orleans
county, New York, at the age of eleven years.
Mrs. Warren survived her husband for some
time.
James J. Warren was educated in the district
schools of New York and with his parents came
to Shiawassee county in 1856. On the death of
his father he took charge of the home farm,
which he operated for three years, and then re-
moved to Clinton county, buying forty acres of
land on section 19, Greenbush township, only
five acres of which was cleared. While im-
proving this he purchased another forty acres
adjoining. This was partially improved and
later he bought twenty acres on section 18.
The last mentioned tract remained as a part
of his farm until 1902, when he sold it to Frank
Bishop and purchased forty acres south of the
farm on section 19 and forty acres on section
20. This is a well improved farm of one hun-
dred and sixty acres equipped with good
buildings and well kept fences. He erected his
residence in 1875 and his barn in 1869. He has
been successful in his farming interests, work-
ing diligently and persistently year after year
until his labors have been crowned with a
marked measure of prosperity.
Mr. Warren was married on the 1st of
January, 1862, to Miss Sophia Elizabeth War-
ren, a daughter of Henry and Harriet (Ridz-
bridger) Warren, both of whom were natives
of England. Though of the same name the
two families were not related, the parents of
Mrs. Warren being natives of Charwood, near
London, England, where her birth occurred. In
1850, she came with her parents to America
and her father followed farming near Roches-
ter, New York, up to the time of his death,
which occurred in 1862. His wife survived
him for only a few weeks. In their family were
eleven children, of whom eight are yet living.
Those who still survive are as follows : George
R., of Bennington, Shiawassee county, who
married a sister of James J. Warren of this re-
view; William, of Yuba county, California;
Mrs. Eliza Berger, of New York; Sophia
Elizabeth ; Henry, who is in the west ; Thomas,
a resident of St. Louis, Michigan; Mrs. Anna
Talcott, of Chicago; and Mrs. Mary Buffing-
ton, of New York. The deceased members of
the family are: Sarah, who died in infancy;
Alfred, who died in Batavia, New York; and
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MR. AND MRS. J. J. WARREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
151
Stephen, whose death occurred in Howard City,
Michigan. Four brothers of this family were
soldiers of the Civil war. Alfred and Stephen
enlisted in the New York Regiment of In-
fantry, the former as a commissioned officer and
the latter as a substitute. Although Alfred
Warren escaped injury his health was so badly
impaired as to finally cause his death on the
4th of October, 1898. Stephen Warren was
seriously wounded in the second volley fired
in the battle of the Wilderness, a bullet strik-
ing him in the upper jaw, carrying away half
of the jaw and part of his teeth. Although he
was not disfigured in appearance this wound
caused his death. After many years of suffer-
ing he answered the last bugle call in 1885,
leaving a widow and one son, Bernard S., who
is making rapid progress in the business world,
being now secretary of one of the large furni-
ture companies of Grand Rapids. Henry and
Thomas Warren, who were also soldiers of the
Civil war, escaped serious injury. Henry en-
listed in the First Michigan Cavalry from Ovid
and was not wounded, while Thomas, who en-
listed in a New York regiment of infantry, was
struck by a bullet in the foot while on picket
duty. He was first drafted for service and
afterward returned home ill and the second
time he went to the front as a substitute. All
four of the brothers served until the close of
the war.
Mr. and Mrs. James J. Warren have an
adopted daughter, Lottie A., their niece, being
the daughter of Henry and Florence Warren.
She is the wife of Walter Eames, of Owosso,
and they had three children, of whom two are
living: Florence A., who always spends her
vacations with her grandfather and grand-
mother Warren; and Charles J., of Owosso.
The deceased child, Edna K., was a twin sister
of Florence and died December 9, 1901, her
remains being laid to rest in the family vault
in the Maple Grove cemetery of Ovid.
Mr. and Mrs. Warren are prominent and
well known people of Greenbush township, en-
joying in unqualified measure the esteem and
friendship of those with whom they have been
associated. In politics a republican, he was
10
elected justice of the peace in 189 1, filling the
office until 1903. Always interested in the
cause of public education, he has done effective
service in behalf of the school board of district
No. 8 through twenty-one consecutive years.
He is a member of St. Johns lodge, No. 105,
A. F. & A. M., and he and his wife are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, in
which he is serving as steward.
NELSON McFARREN.
Nelson McFarren, living on section 10, Bath
township, was born on a farm in Washtenaw
county, Michigan, May 25, 1852, and is a son
of John McFarren, a native of New York and
a brother of Clarence McFarren, whose history
appears on another page of this work. When
a youth of fifteen years Nelson McFarren came
to this county and assisted his father in clearing
and opening up a farm, thus developing the
homestead place which in course of time be-
came one of the best farming properties of the
community. On attaining his majority, how-
ever, he left home and started out in life for
himself, soon after purchasing forty acres of
land on which he now resides. With character-
istic energy he began to clear and fence this
and to make the place a productive tract that
would crown his labors with success. His
hope of winning a competence was realized and
in the course of years his financial resources
justified the purchase of another forty-acre
tract. This he also cleared, grubbed out the
stumps and cut down the trees and now there is
a good orchard where once stood forest trees,
and other portions of the farm are covered by
fields of waving grain. He has built a big
basement barn and added other buildings and
his farm is indeed a well improved property.
In March, 1883, occurred the marriage of
Nelson McFarren and Miss Ada Saxton, a na-
tive of Oakland county, Michigan, and a daugh-
ter of J. B. Saxton, who was born in New
York and came to this state at an early age,
establishing his home in Clinton county. In the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY
family of Mr. and Mrs. McFarren are three
children: Floyd and Harry, who aid in carry-
ing on the home farm ; and Esther, who is like-
wise with her parents.
Mr. McFarren has been called to some local
offices, having been elected and served as high-
way commissioner but his ambitions and aspira-
tions are not in this line. In his political views
he is independent, supporting the candidate
rather than the party. His attention is given
to his farm work and he has made a specialty
of the breeding and raising of mules and has
raised and sold some very valuable animals.
His entire life has been passed in Michigan, for
he was reared in Clinton county and has ever
been known as a man of unfaltering industry,
whose farm shows the labor and care that he
has bestowed upon it. Fair and just in all his
dealings and reliable in his business trans-
actions, his genuine worth is widely acknowl-
edged by those who know him.
J. D. SLEIGHT.
J. D. Sleight, one of the public-spirited men
of Victor township, is found as a co-operant
factor in many measures that have been of sub-
stantial benefit to this section of the state and
at the same time he has capably and successfully
conducted private business interests, owning
a well improved farm of two hundred acres on
section 20, Victor township. He has lived in
Clinton county since 1866 and his acquaintance
is wide and favorable. His birth occurred in
Dutchess county, New York, at Hyde Park,
near Poughkeepsie, on the 13th of December,
1844, his parents being Frederick and Eliza-
beth (Paulding) Sleight, who were also natives
of Dutchess county. The father followed farm-
ing there for a number of years, then attracted
by the opportunities of the growing west made
his way to Michigan in 1867, joining his son
in Clinton county.
J. D. Sleight had been reared in the county
of his nativity and was educated in the com-
mon and select schools there, having the ad-
vantage of scholastic training at Pleasant
Plains. He was a young man of seventeen
years when, his patriotic spirit being aroused,
he offered his aid to the government, enlisting
on the nth of October, 1862, as a member of
Company H, One Hundred and Fiftieth New
York Infantry. He joined the Army of the
Potomac and participated in the hotly con-
tested battle of Gettysburg, where the two
armies retreated and advanced in their strug-
gle to gain possession of the field until the dead
were strewn so thickly over the ground that it
was impossible to walk without stepping upon
a dead or wounded soldier. Later he was trans-
ferred to General Sherman's command at Chat-
tanooga and was in the battle of Missionary
Ridge and on the Atlanta campaign, where he
was under fire every day for more than a month.
He assisted in the capture of Jonesboro and of
Atlanta and went with Sherman on the cele-
brated march to the sea, participating in the
fight at Goldsboro, North Carolina, after which
he marched on to Richmond and later to Wash-
ington, D. C, there participating in the grand
military pageant which was a fitting celebration
to the close of the war, the victorious troops
marching in armed array through the streets
of the capital city amid the cheers of thousands
of rejoicing citizens. Mr. Sleight was honor-
ably discharged in Washington and was mus-
tered out at Poughkeepsie, New York, on the
12th of July, 1865. He then returned home
and attended school until the following spring,
when he came west to Michigan and during the
summer months worked at farm labor and in
the winter seasons in the lumber woods, being
thus engaged up to the time of his marriage.
On the 1 8th of December, 1870, Mr. Sleight
was married, in Victor township, to Miss
Louisa Read, who was born in that town-
ship, and was the daughter of Ainsworth
Read, one of the first settlers of the
county. Her father had come to Michigan from
Massachusetts at a very early day in the de-
velopment of this part of the state. Following
his marriage Mr. Sleight settled upon the farm
where he now resides, beginning there with one
hundred and sixty acres of land which he cleared
and on which he built a log house, making it
his home for a few years. He then bought
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
153
forty acres more where he resides and he now
has a valuable farm of two hundred acres. The
little log cabin has been replaced by a model
two-story frame residence, built in atractive
style of architecture and forming one of the
pleasing features of the landscape. There are
also two good barns and outbuildings which
furnish ample shelter for farm machinery, for
the stock and grain. An orchard of his plant-
ing is now yielding its fruits in season and the
farm is altogether a well improved place.
Mr. and Mrs. Sleight have three children:
Raymond D., who is engaged in the practice
of medicine at Battle Creek, Michigan; Pro-
fessor E. Roscow Sleight, a man of superior
education, now connected with the military
academy at Orchard Lake, where he is acting
as professor of mathematics, and who is mar-
ried and has one child, Norman; and Roland
W., who is at home. They lost their first born,
Ainsworth, who died at the age of six years.
Politically Mr. Sleight is a republican, un-
faltering in support of the party since he cast
his first presidential ballot for U. S. Grant. He
has been elected and served as highway com-
missioner and has also been township treasurer,
while for the seventh term he is serving as su-
pervisor, being now a member of the county
board. He has been made a member of various
important committees and for one year served
as chairman of the board. He has been sent as
a delegate to various conventions of his party
and has acted as chairman of the township cen-
tral committee. He and his wife were reared
in the faith of the United Brethren church, of
which they are now members and Mr. Sleight
belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and
to the Royal Arcanum. He has been a resident
of Clinton county for thirty-nine years and is
thoroughly identified with its interests, its de-
velopment and its prosperity. He has helped to
make the county what it is today and is num-
bered among its best citizens. He also has rea-
son to be proud of a creditable soldier record
for he fought valiantly for the old flag and the
preservation of the Union. He has likewise
been active and influential in political circles and
his good business ability, tried integrity and de-
votion to the general welfare have made him
worthy of the esteem and confidence of all
with whom he has been associated.
JEREMIAH B. HOWE.
Jeremiah B. Howe, living on section 21,
Olive township, is a well known and prosperous
farmer of the community and has an excellent
tract of eighty acres that annually returns to
him good crops. His birth occurred in Lansing,
Michigan, on the 13th of August, 1854. His
father, Philander Howe, was born in Tompkins
county, New York, in 18 15, and was a son
of Aaron Howe, likewise a native of that state
and of English descent. The great-grandfather,
Captain Howe, was a soldier of the Revolution-
ary war and served as one of General Washing-
ton's body guards. Philander Howe was reared
in the Empire state and in early life was a lieu-
tenant in the militia. He married Miss Mary
Hyde, a native of New York, and on leaving
the east they removed to Ohio, where they re-
sided for two or three years. In 1854 they
came to Michigan, settling in Lansing, and in
the fall of the same year took up their abode
on section 16, Olive township, Clinton county,
upon a tract of raw land, which Mr. Howe
cleared and fenced. He built thereon a com-
fortable home and made the farm a productive
and valuable property. He later traded this for
a farm on section 20 and bought more land,
owning eighty-seven acres, on which he placed
good buildings and many modern improvements.
There he reared his family and spent his re-
maining days, his death occurring on the 5th
of March, 1903. His first wife died in 1857
and later he married again.
Jeremiah B. Howe was the youngest in a
family of six children of the father's first mar-
riage. He was reared in his native township^
and pursued his education in the public schools,
continuing with his father until thirty years
of age, when he helped carry on the farm. He
was married here, October 3, 1883, to Miss
Nellie Williams, who was born and reared here
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
and was formerly a teacher. She died Decem-
ber 23, 1895, leaving two daughters, Elma and
Gertrude, who are at home with their father.
On the 22d of February, 1897, Mr. Howe was
again married, his second union being with
Elvira E. Stampfly, a native of this locality and
a daughter of Benedict Stampfly, one of the
early settlers of the county. There is one son
by the second marriage, Myron S. Howe.
After his first marriage Jeremiah B. Howe
bought and settled upon the farm where he now
resides and in the spring of 1885 began its
cultivation and improvement. Later he built
a good house and a big bank barn, also built
a granary and other necessary outbuildings for
the shelter of grain and stock, planted an or-
chard, fenced his buildings and in addition to
the tilling of the soil he also raised good grades
of stock. Politically he is a stanch republican.
He was elected and served for three years as
township clerk, was supervisor for three years,
has also been on the school board and was
treasurer of the district for sixteen years. Mrs.
Howe is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, while Mr. Howe is a member of the
Masonic fraternity. He is now classed with '
the prosperous farmers of the community and
has a wide and favorable acquaintance in this
part of the state, where he has long resided.
MARCUS L. TAFT.
Since Marcus L. Taft became a resident of
Clinton county changes have been wrought that
are truly marvelous, the wild forest region hav-
ing been converted into highly cultivated farms
and attractive homes, the entire county becom-
ing peopled with a contented, enlightened and
prosperous population. Mr. Taft was born in
Broome county, New York, October 15, 1839,
*his parents being Israel W. and Lucy Wood-
ruff (Barnes) Taft. They were natives of
Broome county and came to Michigan in the
year 1856. The year before the father had
visited Clinton county and had located his farm
in Ovid township, adjoining on the west the
one now owned and occupied by his son, Marcus
L. Taft, on section 28. He took up two hun-
dred acres of land, sixty acres of which had
been cleared. Israel Taft resided there for a
number of # years and then removed to Port
Huron, where he became general agent for a
stage business. Finally, however, he returned
to his farm, where his death occurred when he
was fifty-eight years of age. His wife had died
when their son Marcus was but twelve years of
age. Israel Taft had filled a number of local
offices and was an enterprising citizen whose
worth was widely acknowledged. By his first
marriage he had four children: Marcus L. ;
Frank, who is living in Bingham township,
Clinton county; and Lewis and Henry, both
deceased. For his second wife the father mar-
ried Mrs. Mary Sprong, of Albany, New York,
and they became the parents of seven children,
of whom three are yet living: Alice, the wife
of George Daniels, of Ovid; Edna, the wife
of Frank Smith, of Ovid township; and Steven
A., who is living on the old homestead farm in
Ovid township. Those who have passed away
are: Louise, who became the wife of Frank
Williams and died in California ; and three who
died in infancy.
Marcus L. Taft is indebted to the district
schools for the early educational privileges he
enjoyed and afterward studied in a select school
in Marathon, New York. Subsequently he
began farming on his own account, operating
his father's land on the shares for two years,
after which he bought forty acres of land, con-
stituting a part of his present farm. Subse-
quently he purchased two hundred acres more
in small lots. Nearly all of this was wild land
but he has transformed it into a very valuable
and productive farm of two hundred and forty
acres. His first home was a log cabin but he
has since erected modern buildings, his im-
provements being among the finest in the town-
ship. Everything upon his farm is up-to-date
and he is thorough and systematic in his
methods, displaying earnest thought and con-
sideration of the questions involved as well as
care, energy and enterprise in carrying on the
work whereby he has attained a gratifying
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MRS. M. L. TAFT.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
159
measure of success. Difficulties and obstacles
have barred his path and he has suffered greatly
from ill health but by means of proper man-
agement and unremitting diligence he has
gained prosperity in the face of much discour-
agement. He recalls with pleasure many of
the scenes now referred to as the "happy days
in the old log house." Marvelous changes have
since been wrought as man has reclaimed this
region for the purposes of civilization and has
set the stamp of improvement and progress
here. He can remember the time when the
road to his present farm was laid with logs as
far north as Shepardsville. Many of the roads
of the neighborhood were not yet opened and
the most far-sighted could scarcely have
dreamed of the great improvement which was
soon to take place.
On the 8th of March, 1863, occurred the
marriage of Mr. Taft and Miss Isabella Moore,
a daughter of Mathew and Isabella (Lowry)
Moore, both of whom were natives of Ireland.
The family came to Michigan when Mrs. Taft
was eleven years of age, settling in Victor town-
ship. The mother had previously died in New
York state and the father died in the Civil war
while serving with the Twenty-seventh Michi-
gan Infantry as a member of Company K, his
death being the result of wounds sustained in
battle. Mrs. Taft has a brother, Joseph Moore.
Unto our subject and his wife have been born
a daughter and son: Matie A., the wife of
Amon Putnam, of Ovid; and Israel W., who
is living upon the home farm in Ovid town-
shiP' T ,
Where national issues are involved Mr. Taft
votes with the democratic party but at local
elections casts an independent ballot. He is re-
garded as one of the substantial men of his
township, owing his success entirely to his own
efforts. He possesses the strong determination
that enables him to carry forward to successful
completion whatever he undertakes and where
others would have become discouraged and dis-
heartened he has pressed forward until his la-
bors have been crowned with prosperity. More-
over he is entitled to mention in this, volume
as a pioneer resident of the county and he re-
lates in interesting manner many episodes of
the early days. He was one of the organizers
and first directors of the State Bank of Ovid
and has been its vice president for three years.
SAMUEL M. POST, M. D.
Dr. Samuel M. Post, physician and surgeon
of St. Johns making a specialty of rheumatism
in his practice, is a native of Sherbrook, Berry
county, Canada, torn on the 4* of March,
1848, his parents being Stilman W. and Sarah
(Osgood) Post, the former a native of Ver-
mont and the latter of Canada. The Post fam-
ily was an old one in the Green Mountain state.
The great-grandfather, William Post, was a
native of Georgia, Vermont, and died at the
very venerable age of ninety-four years. He
had read the Bible completely through eight
times. His son, Moses Post, was born May
17. T773' and marriecl Lucy Warner> who was
born November 21, 1780. He died April 19,
1854, while his wife passed away January 7,
1856. They were the parents of nine children,
of whom Stilman W. Post was the seventh in
order of birth. The Osgood family came from
Canada, where Samuel Osgood, grandfather of
Dr. Post, lived and died. In 1849 Stilman W.
Post removed with his family from Canada to
the state of New York and in 1854 became a
resident of Hillsdale, Michigan, where he en-
gaged in farming. Both he and his wife spent
their last days there, his death occurring Sep-
tember 11, 1895, when he was about eighty-
one years of age, for the date of his birth was
October 29, 18 14. His wife was forty-six
years of age at the time of her death, which
occurred in 1872. They had been married
March 8, 1847. After losing his first wife
Mr. Post was again married on the 7th of July,
1875, when Eliza Clay, of Hillsdale, Michi-
gan, became his wife. By his first marriage
Stilman Post had- eight children, those yet liv-
ing being Samuel M. ; Stilman A; Sarah, the
wife of Agnus Beers, of Hillsdale; and Lucy,
the wife of Eugene Hewitt, also of Hillsdale,
Michigan.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Dr. Post, after spending five years of his
early childhood in the Empire state, accom-
panied' his parents on their removal to Hills-
dale, Michigan, when he was about six years
of age and there he acquired his early educa-
tion in the public schools, afterward continu-
ing his studies in Hillsdale College. Subse-
quently he engaged in teaching for five terms
in the district schools near Hillsdale and in
1866 he entered upon the study of medicine
under the direction of Dr. Robert E, Evart, of
Hillsdale, supplementing his preliminary read-
ing by a course in the University of Michigan,
from which he was graduated with the class of
1 87 1. He began practice in Eureka, Clinton
county, where he remained for twenty-five years
or until the spring of 1896, when he came to
St. Johns and has since maintained his office
in this city with a constantly growing patron-
age. He was for four years a member of the
pension board and was health officer of Green-
bush township for sixteen years during his
residence there. He makes a specialty of the
treatment of rheumatism and has effected some
remarkable cures in recent years even when
the inflammatory stage has been reached. He
has been a close and earnest student of his pro-
fession, its progress and advancement, and has
kept in touch with the onward march of the
medical fraternity, continually promoting his
efficiency through study and investigation.
At the early age of fourteen years Dr. Post
developed a strong desire to become a taxi-
dermist and during the past years has collected
and preserved some rare specimens which are
splendid examples of his handiwork and ef-
ficiency in that art. He is a democrat in his
political faith but without aspiration for office.
Fraternally he is connected with the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of the
Maccabees and the Loyal Americans.
Dr. Post was married at Hillsdale, May 6,
1873, t0 Miss A- May Marsh, who died in
October of the same year, and on the 3d of
January, 1875, ne married Sarah E. Barring-
ton, of Eureka, Clinton county, a daughter of
Addison Hulse. The children of this marriage
are Sarah, the wife of Austin Crowner, of St.
Johns; and Samuel A., who is engaged in the
shoe business in this city. Mr. and Mrs.
Crowner have two children, Leona and Samuel,
while Pauline and Athelia are the children of
Samuel A. Post. Domestic in his tastes, the
interest of Dr. Post has centered in his family,
while his zeal in his profession, supplemented
by a conscientious regard for the obligations
and responsibilities devolving upon him, have
made him a capable physician and one whose
success has come as the legitimate effect of his
skill and thorough understanding of the prin-
ciples of medicine.
CHARLES T. ANDRUS.
Charles T. Andrus, a pioneer settler of Clin-
ton county and an honored veteran of the Civil
war, was born in Cazenovia, Madison county,
New York, July 16, 1837. His parents were
John H. and Delocia (Webber) Andrus, the
former a native of Connecticut and the latter
of Pennsylvania. They came to Michigan in
the year 1839, locating on section 7, Watertown
township, Clinton county, in the midst of an
almost unbroken wilderness. There were no
roads, the land was unclaimed and the forests
uncut. The father took an active and helpful
part in local affairs up to the time of his death,
which occurred in i860, when he was in the
sixty-sixth year of his age. His wife had
passed away two years before. They were the
parents of eight children: John W., now living
in Kent county, Michigan; Cornelia, the wife
of George Saunders, of the same county;
Georgia, the wife of Austin Cowan, of Kent
county; Caroline, the wife of John Bissell, of
Grand Ledge, Michigan; Gerard, of Water-
town township; Dennis, who died in i860; and
Frances, who became the wife of John Hughes
and died in Kent county in 1867.
Charles T. Andrus, the oldest member of
the family, received but limited educational
privileges but mastered the elementary branches
of learning in a log schoolhouse and through
experience, reading and observation in later
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
161
years has greatly broadened his knowledge. He
remained upon the old home farm until the
death of his parents when his brother John took
charge of the home place, and Charles started
out in life on his own account. On the 4th
of August, 1 86 1, he responded to his country's
call for aid, enlisting in Company A, Twenty-
third Michigan Infantry under Captain Spauld-
ing. He was mustered in at East Saginaw,
Michigan, September 12, 1862, and was honor-
ably discharged July 20, 1865. He entered the
army with the rank of corporal and was pro-
moted to sergeant in 1863. He participated in
various important engagements, twenty-seven
in all, including the battle of Franklin, Ten-
nessee, the siege of Knoxville, the battle of
Resaca, the Atlanta campaign and the Morgan
raid. He was under General Sherman from
1863, marching with him as far as Rome,
Georgia, in October, 1864, and then rejoined
his command at Goldsboro, Georgia, on the 21st
of March, 1865. On the 30th of November,
1864, he was engaged in the battle with Hood's
forces at Franklin, Tennessee, where the rebels
charged thirteen times and afterward fell back
to Nashville on the 1st of December, remain-
ing there until the 15th and 16th of the same
month, when they again attacked Hood, driving
him back to Franklin over the same ground
where the battle had previously occurred. They
paroled twenty-seven hundred prisoners and the
opposition lost more generals in that engage-
ment than in any other battle of the Civil war.
Mr. Andrus with his regiment afterward fell
back to Columbia and on the 1st of January,
1865, marched from that place to Clifton on
the Tennessee river. On the 16th of January
the troops took boat there and went up the Ohio
river to Cincinnati and afterward to Washing-
ton by rail, remaining at Camp Stoneman until
the 13th of February. They then crossed the
Potomac river to Alexandria and afterward
took boat for Fort Fisher at the mouth of Cape
Fear river. Subsequently they marched up
the river to Wilmington, Delaware, and on the
22d of February captured that city, remaining
there until the 6th of March. The next move
of the army was to Kingston and afterward to
Goldsboro, forming the junction with Sher-
man's army and proceeding then to the coast.
Later Mr. Andrus was on picket duty and was
at Raleigh, North Carolina, at the time of
General Lee's surrender. The regiment re-
mained at Raleigh for a time but afterward
went to Greensboro and then on to Salsbury,
North Carolina, continuing there until June 28,
1865, when the members of the regiment were
mustered out and returned to Michigan.
After his return home Mr. Andrus engaged
in farming and subsequently operated a grist-
mill at Dewitt for two years. He was married
in 1867 and then rented a farm in Eagle town-
ship, taking up his abode on the Derbyshire
farm of two hundred and twenty acres, which
he cultivated for two years. He was afterward
superintendent of the Deitz farm in Watertown
township for a year and in 1876 purchased his
present place in Wacousta. He was identified
with milling and farming interests for a num-
ber of years but is now living retired, enjoying
a well earned rest.
Mr. Andrus was married in 1867 to Miss
Alice Higbee, a daughter of Elisha and Emline
(Wright) Higbee. Their children are: Albert
H., who is a salesman for Josiah Anstice, a
hardware firm of Rochester, New York; An-
nette, the wife of Lucius Streeter, of Syracuse,
New York; and Frank C, who died in infancy.
Mrs. Andrus belonged to one of the early
pioneer families of Clinton county, her people
having located on section 11, Eagle township,
in 1837. She has two brothers, J. W. and
George C. Higbee, the former living in Teko,
Washington, and the latter in Marquette,
Michigan. Her father died at Winchester,
Virginia, in December, 1864, while serving
under General Sheridan in the Civil war.
Mr. Andrus has served as constable for many
years and now holds that office and was also
deputy sheriff of Clinton county under Sheriffs
Swiggart and Leland for eight years. In
politics he is a stalwart republican and he be-
longs to Joseph Mason post, No. 248, G. A. R.,
at Wacousta. He is the oldest citizen in his
locality in point of continuous connection with
the county and has a remarkable memory for
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
events which formed the early history of this
part of the state. His genial manner, kindly
disposition and genuine worth have made him
a respected and valued citizen of Clinton county,
and as a citizen and soldier he has made an
excellent record.
MAURICE BEDAINE.
Maurice Bedaine, who is interested in
general agricultural pursuits on section 9,
Watertown township, where he owns one hun-
dred and twenty acres of land, was born in
Ohio, on the 8th of January, 1853, n^s parents
being John and Mary (Carey) Bedaine, both of
whom were natives of France. The paternal
grandfather also bore the name of John Bedaine
and came to America one year prior to the
emigration of his son John. The latter took up
his abode in Brown county, Ohio, prior to his
marriage and in 1859 removed with his family
to Lawrence county, Illinois, where both he and
his wife passed away.
Maurice Bedaine was reared to the occupa-
tion of farming, no event of special importance
occurring to vary the routine of farm life for
him in his boyhood days. He acquired his edu-
cation in the public schools and throughout his
entire life has carried on general agricultural
pursuits. From a comparatively early age he
depended entirely upon his own resources and
whatever success he has attained is attribut-
able entirely to his own labor and enterprise. In
1880 he was married to Miss Josephine Kenley,
a daughter of James Kenley, of Clay county,
Illinois, and they have become the parents of
six children: Mary J., James B., Henry S.,
Carrie J., Frank and Veda D.
In 1892 Mr. Bedaine removed from Cham-
paign county, Illinois, to Clinton county, Michi-
gan, and settled on section 9, Watertown town-
ship, where he purchased one hundred and
twenty acres of land of Samuel Clark. In 1905
he built a new barn forty by sixty-four feet and
forty-five feet from the ground to the peak. It
is a model structure, being the best basement
barn ever built in Watertown township. There
is a cement basement wall under the entire
structure and the building is valued at fifteen
hundred dollars. Since coming to this place
Mr. Bedaine has cleared away the brush and
carried forward the work of improvement until
he has brought the farm up to a high state of
cultivation and now has one of the best proper-
ties of the township.
A democrat in his political views, Mr.
Bedaine has never sought or desired office,
serving only in connection with the schools,
filling the positions of trustee and director, act-
ing in the latter capacity at the present time.
He has also been path master. Fraternally he
is connected with the Modern Woodmen of
America. In his business career he has worked
hard and surmounted many obstacles and has
so directed his labors that as the years have
gone by he has won a good property that is
the visible evidence of his life of thrift, perse-
verance and diligence.
NEWTON L. WEBB.
Newton L. Webb, one of the substantial
farmers of Dewitt township, owns and operates
seventy acres on section 9, constituting a well
improved and valuable farm, conveniently lo-
cated near the village of Dewitt. He has lived
in this county since 1872. A native of Mas-
sachusetts, his birth occurred in the town of
Otis, Berkshire county, on the 25th of March,
1840, his parents being Loomis and Arivalia
(Dowd) Webb. The father was also a native
of Massachusetts, born in 1803, and the grand-
father, Jonah Webb, was a native of Con-
necticut. The Webb family is of English line-
age and the first representatives of the name
in the new world took up their abode in the old
Bay state. Jonah Webb removed from Con-
necticut to Massachusetts, establishing his home
in Berkshire, where he lived to the remarkable
age of more than one hundred years. Loomis
Webb was torn, reared and educated there and
was three times married, his first wife being
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MR. AND MRS. MAURICE BEDAINE.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
165
Emeline Kimberley, by whom he had five chil-
dren. He removed from Massachusetts to New
York in 1851, settling in Wayne county, where
he resided until his death, which occurred in
1866, when he was eighty-three years of age.
Newton L. Webb is one of the family of two
sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to
mature years in New York and are yet living,
namely: Newton L. ; Charles L., who resides
in Huron, New York; Emeline, the wife of
Enos H. Reed, of Wolcott, New York; Mrs.
Phoebe L. Swarthout, a widow, also residing in
Laingsburg; and Adelia, the wife of Charles
Chapin, a farmer of this county.
In Wayne county, New York, Newton L.
Webb spent his boyhood and youth, acquiring
a good education in the common schools and an
academy. He was married in that county on
the 18th of March, 1863, to Miss PhoebeHuyck,
a native of New York, born at Wolcott. Fol-
lowing his marriage Mr. Webb engaged in the
occupation of farming in Wayne county for
nine years and in 1872 he removed westward to
Michigan, settling in Clinton county, where he
purchased the farm upon which he now re-
sides. He at once began its further develop-
ment and cultivation and built to and remodeled
the house and now has a comfortable residence.
He also built outbuildings, has fenced the place
and has developed an excellent property, which
in its splendid appearance indicates the careful
supervision of a practical and progressive owner.
Mr. and Mrs. Webb have one son, Henry
M., who was reared and educated in Dewitt
and remained at home until he attained his
majority, when he went to Lansing, Michigan,
where he was employed by a beet sugar com-
pany for three years, being field superintendent
of the beet raising. He also clerked in Lansing
for two years and in 1904 he returned to the
farm and is now associated with his father in
its improvement. He wedded Mrs. Ida Averill,
a widow.
In his political views Newton L. Webb is
a stanch democrat and cast his first presidential
ballot for General George B. McClellan in i860.
He has filled a number of official positions of
honor and trust, serving as drain commissioner
for one year, on the school board for fourteen or
fifteen years, and for two terms wras a member
of the county board of supervisors, representing
Dewitt township, while for four years he was
commissioner of highways. His son Henry
served as one of the board of school inspectors
and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity,
being now marshal of the blue lodge at Dewitt.
Mr. Webb is a member of the Grange. The
family is a worthy and respected one of Dewitt
township, enjoying the esteem of all and the
friendship of many with whom they have come
in contact.
WARREN B. CASTERLINE.
Warren B. Casterline, living on section 2.7,
Essex township, his postoffice being St. Johns,
is one of the thoroughly up-to-date farmers of
his community, keeping in touch with modern
progress along agricultural lines so that his
farm of one hundred and sixty acres is splen-
didly developed. Since 1856 he has made his
home in Clinton county and thus through a
half century has been a witness of its changes
and its transformation. Like many of the older
citizens of this portion of the state he is a na-
tive son of New York, his birth having occurred
in Ithaca, Tompkins county, on the 7th of No-
vember, 1855. His father, Abraham L. Caster-
line, was born in the same county, was there
reared and learned the mason's trade. As a
companion and helpmate for life's journey he
chose Miss Charlotte J. Gray, who was born in
Ithaca, New York, where they were married.
In 1856 he came with his family to Michigan,
settling in Clinton county at Dewitt. There he
worked at the mason's trade for some years.
He lost his wife in Maple Rapids, and since her
death he has made his home with his son, War-
ren B., being a hale and hearty man of seventy-
five years. In the early days of the county's
development he took an active part in local
progress and improvement and he has a wide
and favorable acquaintance not only among the
older settlers of his community but also among
the later arrivals.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Warren B. Casterline was only a year old
when brought by his parents to Clinton county
so that he was reared to manhood within its
borders. His education was acquired in the
schools of Dewitt and of Lansing and under
the direction of his father he learned the
mason's trade and worked with him for two
or three years. After his marriage, however,
he abandoned building operations and located
on a farm beginning with eighty acres of land
which was partially improved. He continued
the work of clearing the place and fenced the
farm, which he divided into fields of convenient
size. He has cleared away the stumps and by
careful cultivation, the judicious use of fer-
tilizers and the rotation of crops has made his
land very productive. He has to-day three
good barns and a granary, and a neat brick
residence stands as a monument to his enter-
prise and thrift. When his labors had brought
him increased capital he extended the bound-
aries of his place and now owns one hundred
and sixty acres of land in his home farm, to-
gether with forty acres in Greenbush township
and eighty acres In Olive township. Mr. Cas-
terline has been a successful agriculturist and
stock-raiser and is recognized as a man of good
business ability and enterprise. Aside from his
farming interests he owns stock in a creamery
and also in a union telephone company.
Mr. Casterline was married in Essex town-
ship to Miss Elizabeth M. Webster, a daughter
of Edwin Webster, who removed with his
father and the family to Michigan, settling in
Clinton county among its early settlers. Mr.
and Mrs. Casterline have one daughter, C. lone,
now the wife of Floyd Anderson, a resident
farmer of Essex township. The parents and
the daughter are all members of the Methodist
Episcopal church and Mr. Casterline is one of
its officers. He had also taken an active and
helpful interest in the Sunday-school and for
some years was its superintendent. He belongs
to the Masonic fraternity at Maple Rapids and
in politics has been a lifelong republican, tak-
ing an active interest in the local work of the
party. He was elected and served as highway
commissioner for two years, later was appointed
supervisor to fill out an unexpired term and
subsequently was elected and re-elected to that
office until his incumbency covered six con-
secutive years. During one year he was chair-
man of the honorary county board of super-
visors. While serving as supervisor he acted
on various important committees and his efforts
in behalf of the county have always been of a
practical and beneficial nature. He has fre-
quently been chosen as a delegate to numerous
county conventions and in all the offices to
which he has been called he has proved cap-
able and efficient.
Mr. Casterline is justly numbered among the
successful farmers and business men of Clinton
county. He started out in life empty-handed
but he early began to realize the value of in-
dustry and perseverance as active factors in
business life and through his persistency of pur-
pose he has gradually worked his way upward.
A man of integrity and worth he is justly
classed with the enterprising citizens of Clinton
county.
JOHN A. BECK.
John A. Beck, living on section 10, Green-
bush township, in one of the industrious, ener-
getic and prosperous farmers of Clinton county
and his well improved tract of land of one
hundred acres yields to him a gratifying in-
come. He dates his residence in the county and
state from 1872. His birth occurred in Holmes
county, Ohio, December 5, 1848. His father,
Daniel Beck, was a native of Pennsylvania, as
was the grandfather, Michael Beck, whose birth
occurred in Westmoreland, that state. The
Beck family is of German lineage and was es-
tablished in the Keystone state at an early epoch
in its development. Leonard Beck, the great-
grandfather of our subject, was brought by his
parents to the new world when a child of two
years. At the age of fourteen years he joined
the continental army and served as a drum-
mer boy during the Revolutionary war. Michael
Beck, leaving the ancestral home in Pennsyl-
vania, removed to Ohio, becoming one of the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
167
early settlers of Holmes county, where he
entered one hundred and sixty acres and later
owned and operated a farm of three hundred
and twenty acres. Daniel Beck succeeded to a
part of the estate and continued to carry on
agricultural pursuits there until his life's labors
were ended in death when he was but thirty-
five years of age. He also ran a grist mill. He
was married in Holmes county to Miss Sarah
A. Fair, a native of Pennsylvania. Benjamin
Beck, the youngest son of Michael Beck, suc-
ceeded to his father's farm, which is still in
possession of the family. He became quite
wealthy and died in 1905.
John A. Beck, of this review, has been de-
pendent upon his own resources from an early
age. He received only common-school ad-
vantages and when nineteen years of age he
took charge of his grandfather's farm, operating
the place for four years. As a companion and
helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Mary
J. Altman, to whom he was married in Holmes
county, Ohio, in January, 1872. She was born
and reared in the Buckeye state and soon after
her marriage accompanied her husband to
Michigan, the family home being established
in section 10, Greenbush township. Mr. Beck
had visited this state the previous year and had
bought a farm of seventy acres. The young
couple took up their abode upon that property
and Mr. Beck at once began to cultivate and
improve the place, to which he has since added
until he now owns one hundred and sixty acres.
He has one hundred and five acres on the home
place and fifty-five acres in another tract. He
has cleared the land of timber and stumps, has
it divided into fields of convenient size by well
kept fences and has added all modern equip-
ments. A neat residence, good barn and gran-
ary stand as monuments to his thrift and enter-
prise. There is also a good orchard and the
farm is altogether in keeping with ideas of
modern agriculture.
Mr. and Mrs. Beck have eight children.
Gilbert A. is married and is a substantial
farmer of Greenbush township, where he owns
a well improved tract of land. Martha E. is
the wife of Edgar Burk, who is represented
11
elsewhere in this volume. Oliver E. occupies
a business position in St. Johns. Frank H. fol-
lows farming in Greenbush township. George
R. is a mechanic of Eureka, Michigan. Guy
E., Vernie G. and Albert A. are all at home.
They also lost one son, Lyman, at the age of
five months. Mr. Beck belongs to the Masonic
fraternity, his membership being in blue lodge
at Eureka. His political allegiance is given to
the democracy where national questions are
involved but at local elections he votes in-
dependently. His identification with the in-
terests and people of Clinton county covers a
third of a century, during which time he has
made a creditable record as a wide-awake and
progressive farmer and successful business
man.
J. DURFEE SICKELS.
J. Durfee Sickels was born February 15,
1820, in Palmyra, New York, the second in
a family of eight children, six of whom have
been more or less intimately associated with the
history of Clinton and Gratiot counties : Aaron,
who represented the district at the legislature
and was a prominent citizen of Elsie for many
years ; William, who was register of deeds and
judge of probate for Clinton county and closely
allied with the history of Gratiot county;
Lucina, the wife of John Kneeland, of Elba;
Anne, the only surviving one, wife of E. W.
Cobb, a prominent citizen of Elsie ; Emma, who
taught school for about thirty years in the
vicinity; and J. Durfee, the subject of this
sketch.
His paternal grandfather, Philip Vran Ziegel,
was of Holland descent, the name being angli-
cized to Sickels by Philip's son, John F., who
moved with his family to Michigan in 1836.
They sent their household goods by boat across
Lake Erie, where they were all lost in a storm.
The family came in a coach across Canada, the
boys driving the stock. They settled on an
improved farm near Northville, where the father
died in 1839. The family soon moved to an-
other farm near Howell, where J. Durfee re-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
mained until 1847, when he came> a YonnS man
of twenty-seven years, to Duplain. When he
had been here two years he married Sarah Jane
Cobb, who had preceded him into the wilder-
ness with her parents two years before his ar-
rival. She was a descendant of good old
colonial and Mayflower stock, making her a fit
pioneer's wife in the new country in which they
now established their home.
From his mother, Hannah Durfee, Mr.
Sickels imbibed the Quaker faith which domi-
nated his life. His mother was a descendant
of Thomas Durfee, who came from England to
Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in 1660. His ma-
ternal grandfather was a lieutenant of George
III but joined the patriots and served as minute
man in Captain Simmon's company, Colonel
Olney's regiment, muster roll of 1781.
The first public office held by J. Durfee
Sickels in Duplain was in 185 1, when he was
elected as supervisor, which office he held
periodically until 1884— thirteen years in all.
During his administration the courthouse was
built at St. Johns on its present site. He also
held the office during the greater part of the
Civil war and it was his duty to look after the
widows and orphans, giving them the govern-
ment supplies, often all too meager for their
needs. During the first few years of his work
as supervisor Duplain included Elba and
Hamilton and as there were no roads and many
dense forests his work was an arduous one.
In 1856 he assisted in platting the village of
Elsie and with his two brothers, William and
Aaron, built and stocked the first store. He was
one of the original trustees of the Methodist
church and hold the office until his failing
health compelled him to resign. He was the
second postmaster in the village and held the
office for twenty years. He served as justice
of the peace for eight years and was elected
for a third term but refused to serve. He held
the office of township treasurer in 1850 and
was afterward township clerk. In 1868 he was
nominated for the legislature but withdrew on
account of ill health. What was perhaps the
most laborious service given to the public and
the one performed under the most difficult con-
ditions was the work on the state road, which
extends from the center of Ovid township
twenty miles through the towns of Duplain,
Elba and Hamilton. He was commissioned by
the governor to superintend the surveying of
this road, which was built for the purpose of
reaching valuable timber lands beyond. The
magnitude of this undertaking can scarcely be
realized by one who now drives over this broad
thoroughfare, lined with prosperous farms and
pleasant homes. The southern portion was in
more or less good condition but the northern
part had to be built through an almost impene-
trable swamp and unbroken wilderness.
On his return from a session of the board
of supervisors, held in January, 1885, the last
one he attended, he fell from a platform at
Owosso junction and sustained injuries from
which he never recovered and which doubtless
hastened his death, which occurred in April,
1898. His widow survived him seven years,
closing an unusually useful life in February,
1905. They left an unbroken family of seven
children: J. Whitney Sickels, of Grand Ledge;
Alvah L. Sickels and Mrs. L. G. Bates, of
Elsie; Mrs. Arthur Hall, Mrs. D. E. Andrews,
Mrs. Jennie S. Parker and Mrs. W. G. Rankin,
of Detroit.
ISAAC HEWITT.
Isaac Hewitt, well known as a representative
of the financial interests of Clinton county, hav-
ing for some years been engaged in the bank-
ing business at Maple Rapids, was born in
Dewitt, this county on the 20th of January,
1839. His father, William A. Hewitt, was
a native of Steuben county, New York, born
in 1812, and was there reared to manhood,
after which he wedded Miss Hannah C. Hyatt,
also a native of the Empire state. In 1833 or
1834 he removed westward to Oakland county,
Michigan, and in 1835 came to Clinton county,
his being one of the first families of this county.
He located in Dewitt, where he engaged in
merchandising. He was a lawyer by profes-
sion and practiced to some extent after coming
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ISAAC HEWITT.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
171
to the west. He also served as justice of the
peace for a number of years, being the first to
hold that office in the county, and was promi-
nent and influential in community affairs. In
1852 he removed to Maple Rapids, where he
cleared some land and built the first saw and
grist mill on Maple river. He also established
a store and thus was actively and closely con-
nected with business interests of importance and
in the upbuilding and development of the
county. He successfully managed financial in-
terests and in all that he did won a gratifying
measure of prosperity. His labors, too, were
of benefit to his community and his death there-
fore was regarded as a loss throughout Clinton
county. He died in Maple Rapids, February
12, 1863, while his wife, long surviving him,
passed away in 1898.
Isaac Hewitt is one of a family of four sons
and one daughter, all of whom reached adult
age and became heads of families. Joseph W.
Hewitt was a prominent merchant of Maple
Rapids and died here February 9, 1896. Z.
N. Hewitt, who also engaged in business in
Maple Rapids, passed away June 10, 1883. The
sister, Fannie, became the wife of M. B. Brown,
who engaged in merchandising in Maple Rapids
and subsequently in St. Johns.
Isaac Hewitt, the youngest member of the
family, was reared and educated in Clinton
county, mastering the elementary branches
of learning in the common schools. He re-
ceived a thorough, practical business training
in his father's store and as his assistant in other
business ventures remained with him until he
attained his majority. About that time Mr.
Hewitt was married in Maple Rapids, on the
3d of April, 1859, t0 Miss Helen C. Lansing,
a daughter of Harry H. Lansing, who was born
m New York and was married there to Miss
Lydia A. Walkinshaw, who died in the Empire
state when Mrs. Hewitt was a maiden of eleven
summers. Mr. Lansing afterward removed to
Michigan in 1853, locating at Maple Rapids,
Clinton county, where he engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits.
For a year after his marriage Isaac Hewitt
remained with his father and assisted him in
the conduct of his various business enterprises.
He then rented the mill and was engaged in its
operation for about nine months. He next con-
ducted a grocery store and general mercantile
enterprise. He likewise built a sawmill and
was engaged in the manufacture and sale of
lumber for a number of years. He has for a
long period given his attention to the purchase
and sale of real estate and now owns three
well improved farms which return to him a
gratifying income. In 1889 he entered into
patrnership with F. D. Groom and purchased
the Maple Rapids Bank, of which Mr. Groom
is the cashier. Mr. Hewitt has since been as-
sociated with the institution which is regarded
as one of the safe, reliable financial concerns of
the county. He has stimulated the interests of
the county by loaning money and has aided
very materially in the upbuilding and develop-
ment of Maple Rapids, being closely identified
with the people and their business interests for
nearly a half century. Whatever tends to
benefit the locality receives his endorsement and
many times his active co-operation and his ef-
forts have been a helpful factor in public life
here.
Mr. Hewitt has also served on the village
board both as trustee and president and at his
father's death he was appointed to succeed him
as justice of the peace and filled that position
while settling his father's estate, but has never
sought or desired official preferment. On the
contrary he has preferred to give his time and
energies to his extensive business interests
which have been crowned with a gratifying
measure of prosperity. He and his wife are
members of the Christian church, with which
Mr. Hewitt has been connected since 1875. He
has served as one of its deacons and as a mem-
ber of the financial board and has also been
treasurer and trustee. He contributes gener-
ously to the support of the church and in all
its work takes an active and helpful part. He
has been treasurer of the Michigan Christian
state conference since 1881, and also one of
its trustees. Fraternally he is connected with
the Masons, belonging to the blue lodge at
Maple Rapids. He was a charter member of
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172
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
that lodge, organized in 1863, and its first
junior warden. He served through all of its
chairs, was master for eight or ten years and
is now a past master. He likewise belongs to
St. Johns chapter, R. A. M., the council and
the commandery, and is also a member of the
Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt have been bom
two children : Carrie H., now the wife of Fred
Travis, of St. Johns; and Ray M., who is now
holding an important position in the office of
the auditor general of Michigan, at Lansing.
Mr. and Mrs. Travis have two children, Mar-
garet and Frederick, while Ray M. is married
and has a son, Harold. Mr. Travis is a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity and has attained
the Knight Templar degree and is also a mem-
ber of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids.
Mr. Hewitt has a very wide acquaintance in
Clinton county, where his entire life has been
passed. For two-thirds of a century he has
witnessed the changes which have occurred here
and his labors have been attended with ex-
cellent results as the years have gone by. He
belongs to that class of representative Amer-
ican citizens who, while promoting individual
success also advance the general welfare, and
much of the progress and prosperity of Maple
Rapids is directly attributable to his efforts.
JOB W. SEXTON.
Farming and stock-raising interests consti-
tute an important source of income and wealth
to the citizens of Clinton county and to agri-
cultural pursuits Job W. Sexton devotes his at-
tention, making his home on section 29, Victor
township, where he has one hundred and fifty
acres of land, the productiveness of which has
been proven in the excellent crops which he has
annually harvested there. He is one of Mich-
igan's old settlers, his residence in the state dat-
ing from 1846, while since 1863 he has made
his home in Clinton county. His birth occurred
in Clark county, Ohio, July 24, 184 1. His fa-
ther, Zephaniah Sexton, was a native of Ver-
mont, further mention of whom is made on
another page of this work. The son was a
lad of only five years when brought by his par-
ents to Michigan, the days of his boyhood and
youth being passed in Oakland county upon
the father's farm, so that he early became
familiar with all the duties and labors that fall
to the lot of the agriculturist. He had fair
common-school advantages and was trained to
a life of industry and integrity. About 1863
he removed to Clinton county and bought and
located on a farm where he yet resides, becom-
ing owner of eighty acres on which no improve-
ments had been made save the erection of a
log house. He at once began to clear away
the timber, break the land and place it under
cultivation and as he prospered in this task he
extended the boundaries of his farm by addi-
tional purchases until he now has one hundred
and fifty-four acres, constituting a valuable
property. His home is a substantial one and
there is also a good barn and other outbuild-
ings which he keeps in repair. He has like-
wise set out an orchard and indeed has made
the farm a good and productive property, neat
and attractive in appearance.
In January, 1866, in Victor township, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Sexton and Miss
Catherine Arthur, who was born and reared in
Oakland county. There were four children of
this marriage: Calvin E., a resident farmer of
Victor township, who is married and has one
child, Gracie E. ; Samuel F., who is married
and resides in Byron, Michigan, and has one
son, Hubert A.; Jay W., who is residing at
Fenton, Michigan ; and Zeph, of Lansing. He
is married and has a daughter, Margery E.
Politically Mr. Sexton is a republican where
national issues are involved but at local elec-
tions where only the welfare of the community
is to be considered he votes independently. He
was elected and served as commissioner of high-
ways and as township treasurer for one or more
terms and as a member of the school board has
done effective service in behalf of education.
Mr. Sexton is a member of the Masonic fra-
ternity, affiliated with the blue lodge at Laings-
burg. He has been a Master Mason for over
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MR. AND MRS. JOB W. SEXTON.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
175
thirty-five years and is likewise a member of
the Grange. He is well known in Victor town-
ship and in Clinton county, and his many ex-
cellent traits of manhood have made him a repre-
sentative citizen of the community.
JOHN C. DOOLING.
John C. Dooling, a member of the firm of
Dooling & Kelley, practicing at the St. Johns
bar, was born in this city, November 19, 1868,
his parents being Jeremiah and Mary (Dunn)
Dooling, the former a native of Ireland. The
paternal grandfather, Andrew Dooling, was
born on the Emerald Isle and came to America
about seventy-five years ago. Making his way
to Michigan, he settled in Oakland county, tak-
ing up his abode upon a farm where he spent
his remaining days, his remains being interred
in Mount Eliot cemetery at Detroit when he
was seventy-eight years of age. His son, Jere-
miah Dooling, was married at Pontiac, Michi-
gan, to Miss Mary Dunn, who was born in
the Empire state and was a daughter of John
Dunn, who emigrated from Ireland and became
a resident of Shiawassee county, Michigan,
where he followed farming for many years.
Both he and his wife, however, have long since
passed away. Jeremiah Dooling came from
Pontiac, Michigan, to St. Johns on the first
train that entered this city in 1857. He worked
for the D. G. H. & M. Railroad and had a con-
tract for carrying the United States mail to the
postoffice, performing that government service
from 1865 until 1901. He also held the posi-
tion of night watchman and deputy sheriff for
thirty- four years. The first Catholic services
of this city were held in his home and he was
a very devout worshiper of that faith and one
of the organizers of St. Johns Catholic church.
He died in 1903, at the age of seventy- four
years, having spent all but two years of his life
in Michigan. His widow still survives him.
John C. Dooling continued his education in
the high school of St. Johns and then prepared
for his chosen profession as a student in the law
department of the University of Michigan,
from which he was graduated with the class
of 1889. He did not at once enter upon the
active practice of the profession, but became
a clerk in the law department of the R. G. Dun
Mercantile Agency at Grand Rapids. On leav-
ing that service he spent a year and a half in
the practice of law at Belding, Michigan, after
which he came to St. Johns and entered into
partnership with E. H. Lyon under the firm
style of Lyon & Dooling, a connection that was
maintained for five years, when he became a
junior partner in the firm of Spaulding, Norton
& Dooling. This relation was also continued
for five years or until July, 1902, when the
present law firm of Dooling & Kelley was es-
tablished with Dean W. Kelley as the junior
partner.
- Mr. Dooling is recognized as a prominent at-
torney of Clinton county, standing well in his
profession for which he was ably qualified by
a thorough course in law, while in the prepar-
ation of his cases he is now careful and pains-
taking, his arguments being characterized by a
clear and cogent reasoning. His political al-
legiance is given to the democracy.
JOSEPH E. CRAVEN.
On the list of Elsie's representative business
men appears the name of Joseph E. Craven,
who has been actively associated with business
enterprises of the town for sixteen years, mak-
ing a creditable record that is indicated by his
success and the honorable name which he bears
in trade circles. He was born in Lenawee
county, Michigan, November 16, 1857, and
comes of English lineage. His paternal great-
great-grandfather, Thomas Craven, was a na-
tive of England and, crossing the Atlantic,
established his home in New Jersey at an early
day. His grandson, Joseph Craven, was born
in that state and on removing to New York
took up his abode in Seneca county, where the
birth of John T. Craven, the father of our sub-
ject, occurred. He was reared and educated in
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PAST AND PRESENT
that county and was married there to Miss
Louisa Quigly, a native of New York. In order
to provide for his family he followed agri-
cultural pursuits in Seneca county until his
removal to Michigan, at which time he es-
tablished his home in Lenawee county. One
year later he took up his abode in Clinton
county, but afterward returned to the Empire
state, where his last years were passed. His
wife survived him for a few weeks and de-
parted this life in the county of her nativity.
Joseph E. Craven is one of a family of nine
children who reached mature years. He was
reared on a farm in Seneca county, New York,
to the age of eighteen years and was well
equipped for life's practical and responsible
duties by a good education. He learned the
printer's trade, spending about a year in a
printing office, after which he engaged in clerk-
ing in the general store of L. G. Bates at
Elsie, entering his employ in 1877. For ten
years he acted in that capacity, receiving a thor-
ough practical business training. In 1888 he
was appointed postmaster of Elsie by President
Harrison and served for four years. In the
same room as the postoffice he put in a stock of
goods, having a nice line of notions, in which
he built up a gratifying trade. On the expi-
ration of his term as postmaster he entered into
partnership with Mr. Eddy and they opened a
line of general merchandise in a frame building,
which was replaced by a neat brick block in
February, 1904. They now have one of the
best and most complete stocks of goods in Elsie
and their trade has reached gratifying and
profitable proportions. They are numbered
among the most progressive merchants of the
place, carrying a line of goods that is thor-
oughly up to date, while their store would be
a credit to a city of much larger size. Their
business methods are such as will bear the
closest investigation and scrutiny, for they have
placed their dependence upon such old and time
tried maxims as "Honesty is the best policy"
and "There is no excellence without labor."
Mr. Craven was united in marriage in Elsie
in 1879 to Miss Alice W. Eddy, a daughter of
Reuben Eddy, then living in Elsie but for-
OF CLINTON COUNTY.
merly of Oskaloosa, Iowa, in which city Mrs.
Craven was born. Her girlhood days, however,
were largely passed in Elsie and she is in-
debted to the public-school system for the edu-
cational privileges she enjoyed. There is one
son of this marriage, L. D. T. Craven, a young
man who is well educated and is now acting as
a clerk in the store with his father and uncle.
Politically Mr. Craven endorses republican
principles and keeps well informed on the
questions and issues of the day, but is without
political aspiration, preferring to give his at-
tention to his business interests. He belongs to
the Masonic fraternity. He and his wife are
identified with the Eastern Star and he is also
connected with the Knights of the Maccabees.
He stands to-day as one of the most successful
merchants and progressive busines men of the
town and likewise is a public-spirited citizen,
who is found as the champion of each move-
ment or measure that is calculated to promote
the general welfare.
FRED B. CARPENTER.
. Fred B. Carpenter, whose home is on section
7, Ovid township, where he is successfully en-
gaged in farming, is a representative of New
England ancestry, the Carpenters having re-
sided in Rhode Island at an early day. His
father, Clark Carpenter, however, was a na-
tive of Cayuga county, New York, and spent
his early life in the Empire state, where he was
engaged in teaching and farming. He wedded
Miss Mary Bowles, a native of Maryland and
a representative of one of the old families of
that state. Throughout the greater part of his
life Clark Carpenter continued to carry on agri-
cultural pursuits and he held a number of offices
of trust, the duties of which he discharged with
promptness and fidelity. He died in 1895, at
the age of seventy-six years, while his wife
passed away in 1897, at the age of sixty-seven
years. In their family were five children, all
of whom are living: Almaron, who is an
engineer on the Delaware, Lackawanna &
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
177
Western Railroad, residing at Buffalo, New
York; Fred B.; Mary, the wife of William
Snyder, of Spring-water, New York; Byron,
a contractor of Chicago; and Frances, the wife
of Spencer Becker, of Ontario county, New
York.
Fred B. Carpenter was born in Livingston
county, New York, May 21, 1854. He ob-
tained his early education in the district schools
and afterward attended the graded schools of
Springwater, New York, subsequent to which
time he learned the carpenter's trade, eventually
becoming a contractor. He worked for ten
years in that line in the east and then came to
Michigan in 1887, locating in Owosso, where
he was engaged in the manufacture of caskets
for two years. He afterward went to Belding,
Michigan, where he had charge of a casket
factory for seven years, when he became ill
with rheumatism. He visited several health
resorts and finally recuperated, subsequent to
which time he took charge of a casket factory
in New York city, where he remained for two
years. He then returned to Michigan, locating
on an eighty-acre farm which he purchased on
section 7, Ovid township, Clinton county,
erecting here a new residence and later a good
barn, both of which indicate in large measure
the handiwork and skill of Mr. Carpenter. He
has an excellent farm, the land being richly
cultivated, while everything about the place is
indicative of the careful supervision and earnest
efforts of a progressive owner.
On the 6th of April, 1887, Mr. Carpenter
was married to Miss Sarah Thompson, a daugh-
ter of William Thompson, of Ontario county,
New York. They have two sons: William,
who is serving with the United States Army in
the Philippines ; and Byron, who is a farmer of
Ontario county, New York.
In his political affiliations Mr. Carpenter has
been a stalwart republican since the Cleveland
administration but cast his first presidential
ballot for Samuel J. Tilden. In 1901 he was
elected supervisor of Ovid township and has
twice been re-elected so that he is still the in-
cumbent in the office. Fraternally he is con-
nected with the Knights of Pythias at Belding
and he is a man of liberal views, progressive
spirit and fine social qualifications who has
gained and retained the friendship and regard
of many with whom he has been associated
since he came to the middle west.
THEODORE BENGEL.
Theodore Bengel, whose attention is devoted
to farming along modern progressive lines of
agriculture, makes his home on section 3, West-
phalia township. He was born in this township
and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Ackerman)
Bengel, both of whom were natives of Ger-
many, whence they came to the United States
in 1848 after their marriage, which had been
celebrated in the fatherland. Having spent four
years in Flint, Michigan, they came to Clinton
county in 1852, locating on section 3, West-
phalia township. Mr. Bengel, who was a miller
by trade, was employed for eighteen years in
R. B. Smith's mill at Portland, but the family
remained upon the farm on section 3, where he
owned forty acres of land. At the time he
made the purchase this was one of the best im-
proved farms in the township. He afterward
built thereon a new residence and good barn
and as his financial resources made possible the
further purchase of land he added to his
property until at the time of his death he owned
one hundred and eighty acres. He always kept
the farm up to a high standard of improvement
and development and although he devoted his
attention to the milling business during his
active business career his last years were spent
upon the homestead property, where he died
in 1896, when about eighty years of age, his
birth having occurred in 18 16. His wife died
in 1888, when sixty-eight years of age. In their
family were nine children, of whom the follow-
ing are living: Katie, now the wife of Joseph
Hengesbach, of Westphalia township; Charles,
of Beal City, Michigan; Carrie, the wife of
Jacob Martin, of Dallas township; and Theo-
dore of this review; those deceased are
Robert, Thomas and three who died in infancy.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Theodore Bengel acquired his education in
the parochial and common district schools.
He has resided upon the old home farm con-
tinuously since 1896, when he purchased the
property and is regarded as one of the enter-
prising and prosperous agriculturists of the
community. In all of his work he is practical
as well as progressive and his fields give every
indication of careful supervision and yield to
him a golden tribute in return for the care and
labor which he annually bestows upon them.
In 1889 was celebrated the marriage of
Theodore Bengel and Miss Mary Buechel, a
daughter of Bernard Buechel, of Westphalia.
She died in 1891, when only twenty years of
age, leaving a son, Bernard. In 1898 Mr. Ben-
gel was again married, his second union being
with Miss Maggie Rademacher, a daughter of
John Rademacher and they have four children,
Carrie, Anna, Theresa and Joseph.
In politics Mr. Bengel is a democrat and has
served as pathmaster and school director. He
has also been supervisor for six terms, from
1898 until 1903 inclusive, and during the last
term was chairman of the board. He does
everything in his power to forward the best
interests of the county and is a co-operant factor
in many plans for the general good. He be-
longs to St. Mary's German Catholic church,
to the Catholic Men's Benevolent Association
and to the Arbeiter Verein. He is a progressive
citizen, successful in the conduct of his in-
dividual affairs and regarded as one of the
leading and representative men of his com-
munity.
MARK PENNELL.
Mark Pennell, living on section 5, Dewitt
township, is a prominent farmer and a man of
good business and executive ability, well known
in Clinton county because of his accomplish-
ment in agricultural lines and by reason of his
activity in affairs relating to public progress and
improvement. He is now serving his sixth term
as supervisor and his continuation in office is an
indication of the confidence and trust reposed
in him by his fellow townsmen. He has lived
in the county since 1869 anc^ ^s one °f *ne
worthy citizens that the Empire state has fur-
nished to Michigan, for his birth occurred in
Orleans county, New York, on Christmas day
of 1854. His father was Orrin G. Pennell,
who was born in Chenango county, New York,
and was married there to Miss Lorana Davis,
likewise a native of that state. In 1861 they
removed to Michigan, settling in Washtenaw
county, where they remained for eight years,
and then came to Clinton county, locating in
Dewitt township, where Mark Pennell now re-
sides. The father spent his last years here,
passing away in 1899, having for sometime sur-
vived his wife. They had three sons : Galusha,
wTho is living in St. Johns and is represented
elsewhere in this work; Edwin, of Ionia,
Michigan; and Mark, of this review. The
father and all of the sons have served as super-
visor of Dewitt township, and the family have
ever stood for good citizenship and progress.
Mark Pennell was a youth of seven years
when the family left New York and came to
Michigan, and was fifteen when they came to
Clinton county, since which time he has lived
in Dewitt township. His early education was
acquired in the schools of his native state and
he afterward continued his studies in the village
of Dewitt and in the Agricultural College at
Lansing, Michigan. He assisted his father in
the operation of the homestead place until the
latter s death, when he took charge of the
property, w4iich he has since managed. He and
his brother purchased the interest of the other
heirs and Mark Pennell now owns one-half of
the old place, constituting one hundred and
sixty acres. He has further improved the
property and has continuously conducted* his
farming interests with excellent results, having
now a good property from which he annually
harvests fine crops.
In 1880 Mr. Pennell was married in Dewitt
to Miss Ella Goodman, who was born in New
York but was reared in this county. In politics
he is a stanch democrat and was elected super-
visor of the township, in which office he has
been continued by re-election until he is now
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MARK PENNELL.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
181
serving for the sixth term. He has also been
justice of the peace and filled other local posi-
tions and has likewise been a delegate to the
state and county conventions of his party, where
his opinions carry weight because of his known
loyalty to progressive measures. He is
identified with the Masonic fraternity, belong-
ing to the blue lodge at Dewitt and in his life
exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. His
worth is widely acknowledged and while there
have been no exciting chapters in his life record
it shows the value and force of upright char-
acter and of loyal citizenship in winning the
esteem and confidence of one's fellowmen.
WILLIAM FIZZELL.
William Fizzell, living on section 17, Du-
plain township, owns and operates a farm of
eighty acres of land, constituting a well im-
proved and valuable place. He is one of
Canada's native sons, his birth having occurred
in Cunningham county, Ontario, April 18,
1856. His father, William Fizzell, was a na-
tive of Ireland, born in 1824, and there he was
reared and married, the lady of his choice being
Miss Mary Alton. Subsequently he crossed
the Atlantic to the new world, taking up his
abode in Ontario, Canada, in 1850. He lo-
cated on a farm there, where he made his home
until 1866, when he removed to Wayne county,
Michigan, and again devoted his energies to
agricultural pursuits. In 1871 he came to Clin-
ton county, settling on twenty acres in Ovid
township, where he followed farming for thirty-
three years. He now resides with his son John,
and is a hale and hearty old man of eighty-two
years. He has lost his wife, however, her death
occurring on the 2d of June, 1884. In their
family were three sons and three daughters, all
of whom are living and have become heads of
families.
William Fizzell of this review was reared to
manhood in Ovid township and acquired a com-
mon-school education. In his youth he assisted
in the labors of the farm, remaining with his
father until he reached mature years. He was
employed in his youth on different farms of the
neighborhood and when twenty-two years of
age he bought forty acres of land, whereon he
now resides. This constituted the nucleus of
his present property. After his marriage he
began the cultivation and development of the
farm and in the course of years he extended its
boundaries by an additional purchase of forty
acres so that he now has a good tract of land
of eighty acres. When he located on this place
it was in the midst of the forest and was
covered with a dense growth of trees, but soon
the sound of the woodman's ax awakened the
echoes and one by one the trees fell before his
sturdy strokes until the land was cleared and
prepared for the plow. He has fenced the place,
erected modern buildings and has carried for-
ward the work of improvement along most pro-
gressive lines. The farm is all now clear of
stumps and the rich soil yields abundant
harvests, so that the place is to-day a valuable
farming property.
Mr. Fizzell was married in Ovid township,
on the 22d of March, 1882, to Miss Emma S.
Avery, a native of Greenbush township, Clinton
county, and a daughter of Tyler C. Avery,
one of the early settlers who came from New
York to Michigan. Mrs. Fizzell was reared
and educated in Ovid township and was to her
husband a faithful companion and helpmate on
the journey of life but on the 6th of April,
1898, she was called to her final rest. There
were three children by that marriage, Alton J.,
Herbert A. and Carrie L. In November, 1901,
Mr. Fizzell was again married, his second union
occurring in Duplain township, when Miss
Anna A. Hess became his wife. She, too, was
a native of the Empire state and was brought
to Michigan when a maiden of eight summers,
her father being Squire Peter Hess, of Duplain
township. Her education was obtained in the
public schools and she was reared here in her
parents' home, being trained to all of the
duties of the household, so that she was well
qualified to take care of a home of her own
at the time of her marriage. She is a lady of
culture and refinement and prior to her mar-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
riage engaged in teaching, having acquired a
good education in the high school of St. Johns.
For thirteen years she devoted her time and
energies to the work of public instruction and
was widely recognized as a capable teacher.
Politically Mr. Fizzell is a stanch republican.
He was elected and is now serving for the sec-
ond year in the office of township treasurer and
collector. He and his wife are members of the
Duplain Methodist Episcopal church, in the
work of which they take an active and helpful
interest, Mr. Fizzell now serving as one of its
stewards. He and his wife have also been help-
ful workers in the Sunday-school for a num-
ber of years, both serving as teachers and Mr.
Fizzell is a member of the choir and acted as
chorister for several years. He affiliates with
the local Grange and is especially interested in
all that pertains to the development of the agri-
cultural class. He is an active and successful
farmer and business man and has a neat and
well kept property, equipped with good build-
ings, an orchard and various modern improve-
ments. He is especially interested in agri-
cultural societies and the work for the advance-
ment of farming interests and keeps in touch
with the most modern progress. A gentleman
of unblemished character, his word is as good
as any bond that was ever solemnized by sig-
nature or seal, and he and his wife stand very
high socially in the community, having long
resided here, so that their worth is well known.
JACKSON PAGE.
A valuable farm comprising one hundred and
seven and a half acres of rich and productive
land is the property of Jackson Page, and it
lies on section 6, Duplain township, where he
is now successfully engaged in farming. More
than a half century has come and gone since
he located in this county, having arrived here
in the fall of 1853. He was born in Porter
township, Delaware county, Ohio, May 8,
1832. He spent the first twenty years of his
life upon the old homestead farm there, during
which period he acquired a good common-school
education. When a young man he came west
to Michigan, settling in Gratiot county, where
he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land.
Later he returned to Ohio and brought his
mother and her family to this state and they
settled in Gratiot county. Mr. Page began
clearing his own land and also met the ex-
periences and vicissitudes of pioneer life. The
great forests were uncut and abounded in many
kinds of wild game, including deer. He also
hunted and killed bears and greatly enjoyed the
pleasures of the chase. A part of the time Mr.
Page, while clearing his land, made his home
with his mother but later he built a little cabin
on his place and for a time kept "bachelor's
hall.,,
After the inauguration of the Civil war he
enlisted at Eureka, in August, 1861, as a mem-
ber of the Third Michigan Cavalry and with
his regiment went south to Benton Barracks,
St. Louis. Subsequently he participated in the
siege of Corinth and in numerous other engage-
ments in that part of the country. He was
wounded at Booneville, being shot in the shoul-
der, and thus disabled he was taken to the
hospital, where he remained about a month.
Later he rejoined his regiment and was in a
number of important battles, including the en-
gagements at Iuka and Bay Springs, Mis-
sissippi, and Jackson, Tennessee, driving the
Confederates out of that place, which was re-
garded as a southern stronghold. On the ex-
piration of his first term he veteranized and was
then granted a thirty days' furlough which he
spent at home. He then rejoined his regiment
at St. Louis and went down the Mississippi
river, participating in the siege of New Madrid
and Island No. 10. Later he was at Cairo and
went up the Ohio river. He served until the
close of the war and was at San Antonio,
Texas, when mustered out. He had been at
New Orleans and Mobile, also up the Red river
and in various localities in that part of the
country, being always on active duty, which
sometimes led him into the thickest of the fight
and again took him on long marches and hard
campaigns. He was honorably discharged at
Jackson, Michigan, in March, 1866.
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MR. AND MRS. JACKSON PAGE.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
185
Mr. Page at once returned home to his farm,
and on the 23d of September of the same year
was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary Dague,
the widow of Fred Dague, who died in Ohio.
She was a daughter of Hon. Joseph Keen, a
prominent lawyer who served in the state legis-
lature and who had been a major in the Ohio
militia. He was a prominent and influential
man and became a valued resident of Michigan.
Following his marriage Mr. Page located on
the farm where he now resides, on section 6,
Duplain township, Clinton county, and he
cleared the land and built a house. He had
purchased the farm while in the army, it hav-
ing been the property of his brother George
who died in the service. In 1888 Mr. Page
erected his present attractive residence and he
has also put up a good barn, set out an orchard
and made the place one of the productive farms
of the county. Here he engages in the cultiva-
tion of the cereals best adapted to soil and
climate and also in the raising of stock, having
good hogs, sheep, cattle and horses upon his
place.
Mr. and Mrs. Page became the parents of
four children but have lost two, and Mrs. Page
also lost one child by her former marriage.
Those yet living are: George, who is married
and is now engaged in the operation of the
home farm; and Fannie, the wife of George
Andrews, a farmer of this township. Their
daughter, Sarah, who for several years was a
successful teacher, died in early womanhood.
Katie was also a teacher and died when a young
lady. By her former marriage Mrs. Page had
a daughter, Edith, who married and settled in
Saginaw county, Michigan, where her death
occurred.
Politically Mr. Page is a stalwart republican,
having given unfaltering support to the party
since casting his first presidential ballot for John
C. Fremont in 1856. He has served as district
treasurer and director of schools for a few
years but does not care for political office. He
was formerly for twenty-five years a member
of the Eureka lodge, I. O. O. F., in which he
has filled all of the offices and served as a past
grand. He was also a member of the Grand
Army post there but both lodges have dis-
banded. His attention is chiefly given to his
agricultural pursuits and his farm of one hun-
dred and seven and a half acres is under a high
state of cultivation. In matters of citizenship
he is always public-spirited and progressive,
manifesting the same loyalty to his country
that he displayed when on southern battle-
fields he wore the blue uniform of the nation.
MERVIN WEBSTER.
Mervin Webster, living on section 9, Bath
township, is a prosperous agriculturist, whose
farm of seventy acres indicates his careful
supervision, practical methods and progressive
spirit. His life history began in Oakland
county on the 25th of May, 1852. His father,
John Webster, was likewise a native of that
county, and the grandfather was Chester Web-
ster, whose birth occurred in Connecticut. Re-
moving to the west he became one of the first
settlers of Oakland county and in the midst of
the green woods he established his home and
developed a good farm, letting in the sunlight
upon the fields as he cut down the timber and
prepared the land for the plow. John Webster
was reared to manhood in Oakland county and
after reaching adult age he chose as a com-
panion and helpmate for the journey of life
Miss Chloe Richmond, who was born in the
state of New York and was a daughter of John
Richmond, also an early settler of Oakland
county. Following his marriage John Webster
carried on farming in the county of his nativity
for a number of years and the household was
brightened by the presence of five children, who
were born there. Later he removed to Shia-
wassee county where he again opened up a farm
but eventually returned to Oakland county,
whence in 1867 he came to Clinton county.
Here he purchased land, settling in Bath town-
ship, but was not long permitted to enjoy his
new home for his death occurred in 1868. His
wife survived him for a number of years and
passed away in 1903. They had become the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
parents of three sons and four daughters and
with the exception of one son all reached adult
age.
Mervin Webster reached manhood upon the
home farm, remaining with his mother until
he was grown. He then began earning his own
living by working as a farm hand by the month
and was thus occupied for three years. In fact
he was dependent upon his own resources for
a living from an early age and whatever suc-
cess he has attained is attributable entirely to
his labor and enterprise. He was married in
Bath township, November 14, 1876, to Miss
Mary E. Saxton, a daughter of J. B. Saxton,
and a sister of Mrs. Nelson McLarren, whose
sketch appears elsewhere in this work. After
his marriage Mr. Webster bought a small tract
of land of thirty acres and locating thereon
farmed it for a year. He next removed to
Dewitt township, taking up his abode on the
farm of Horace Richmond, his uncle, his at-
tention being given to its further cultivation
for five years, during which time his labors
brought him a capital sufficient to enable him
to purchase forty acres, and he invested on sec-
tion 9, Bath township, where he now resides.
Immediately after he began to improve this
property he bought thirty acres adjoining. The
neat and substantial two story residence stand-
ing here was built by him, also the commodious
barn and other outbuildings which furnish am-
ple shelter for grain and stock. Around the
house is a well kept lawn and the farm is
fenced. There is every indication that the
owner is a man of enterprise and industry to
whom indolence and idleness are utterly foreign,
for throughout the farm there is an air of neat-
ness and thrift.
Mr. and Mrs. Webster have a daughter,
Sara, now a young lady at home. Since cast-
ing his first presidential ballot for Samuel J.
Tilden, in 1876, Mr. Webster has been an
earnest democrat supporting each nominee at
the head of the ticket. He was elected and
served for two years as highway commissioner,
for three terms has been supervisor and while
on the board was a member of the committee
of equalization and claims and also chairman
of the drainage committee. His interest in edu-
cation has been manifest by the tangible and
beneficial effort that he has put forth on the
school board for the improvement of the schools
and the employment of competent teachers. He
is at present district clerk. All his life he has
made his home in Michigan and is numbered
among the old settlers of Clinton county, whose
efforts have done much toward making the
county what it is to-day.
JOSEPH HINMAN.
The name.of Joseph Hinman is closely as-
sociated with official service in Eagle township
and as a representative of farming interests he
is also well known. He was born in McKane
county, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1834, and
is a son of Curtis and Almira S. (De Witt)
Hinman, who were natives of the Empire state.
The paternal grandfather was Peleg Hinman,
who was killed at Sacket Harbor, while serving
in the war of 1812. The maternal grandfather,
Jacob De Witt, came from Pennsylvania to
Michigan in 1838 by ox team and after going
to Dunkirk and Detroit he located in Oakland
county, where he spent one year. He then came
to Clinton county in 1839 and settled in Eagle
township, where he spent his remaining days.
In 1838 our subject's parents also came to
Michigan, settling in Oakland county, but the
following year removed to Eagle township,
Clinton county, and the father began farming
on section 15 in what is known as the Grand
river country. He there bought eighty acres
of land, to which he added until at his death
he owned a large estate. In the early days he
frequently made trips to Pontiac to mill and
marketed his grain at Detroit. He passed away
at the age of sixty years, while his wife died
previously at the age of forty-seven years. In
their family were ten children, of whom the
following are living: Joseph, of this review;
Charles, of Necosta county, Michigan; Dor-
leska, the wife of A. H. Gibbs, of South
Dakota; Herbert, of Tennessee; Milford, of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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Missouri; George, who is living in Bay county,
Michigan; Reuben, of Westphalia township,
Clinton county; and Henry, who resides in
the state of Washington. Two of the family
have passed away : Jennie, who was the wife of
William Radcliff; and Edward C, who was
buried at sea while returning from Alaska.
Joseph Hinnian received but limited educa-
tional privileges, pursuing his studies in a log
schoolhouse on the frontier, where the methods
of instruction were very primitive. He early
began work on a farm. His father was a
Carpenter but Joseph Hinman preferred the
labor of the fields and at the age of twenty-
one years he started out in life on his own ac-
count. Attracted by the discovery of gold at
Pike's Peak he went west to Colorado, and
afterward to Oregon, where he remained for
two years. He then returned to his native
state and locating in Eagle township purchased
eighty acres of his present farm. As his in-
creased financial resources have made possible
the additional purchase of land he has added to
the place until he now owns two hundred and
seventy acres, the greater part of which has
been brought to a high state of cultivation. He
has erected modern buildings here and has one
of the finest farms in Clinton county. He has
assisted in clearing much land in this locality
and in his own business operations has dis-
played the unfaltering energy and determination
which always constitute a safe basis for suc-
cess. With the family he shared in all of the
hardships and privations of pioneer life as well
as its pleasures and can remember when Clin-
ton county was largely an unsettled district.
He was but eleven years of age when he killed
a bear in this county and he had other interest-
ing and exciting experiences.
On the 17th of May, 1862, Mr. Hinman was
married to Miss Sarah Goss, a daughter of
David Goss, of Westphalia township, and they
now have three children: Maud, the wife of
Henry Childs, of Saginaw, Michigan; John C,
living in Eagle township; and Ada, the wife of
Charles W. Brown, living on the home farm.
In his political views Mr. Hinman is in-
dependent. He has served as supervisor for
two terms, as township treasurer for three
terms and in other minor offices, the duties of
which he has discharged with capability and
promptness. He is a man of sound judgment
in business matters and his utilization of oppor-
tunity and carefully directed labors have made
him one of the substantial agriculturists of his
community. Moreover he is one of the pioneer
settlers of the county and his memory carries
with it many pictures of the early days when
the forests were uncut and land unclaimed. As
•the years have gone by he has taken just pride
in what has been accomplished in the way of
development and improvement and has long
been classed as a representative and public-
spirited citizen.
EDWIN PARKER.
Edwin Parker, who is interested in farming
on section 23, Victor township, and whose
practical methods in cultivating and improving
his land are shown in the neat appearance of his
farm of eighty acres, is a native son of this
township, his birth having occurred within its
borders on the 13th of March, 1849. His
father, John Parker, was a native of the state
of New York, of whom further mention is
made on another page in connection with the
sketches of Epson and Newell Parker. In the
family were thirteen children, nine sons and
four daughters, of whom seven are yet living.
The family settled in Victor township in
pioneer days. Edwin was there reared upon
the old homestead and has shared with the fam-
ily in the hardships and vicissitudes of pioneer
life as well as in its pleasures. He remained
with his mother until he had attained his ma-
jority and assisted in the opening up and im-
proving of the farm so that he gained prac-
tical knowledge of the best methods of tilling
the soil. Later he began to improve his own
place — an eighty-acre tract of land. He cleared
and fenced this, adding substantial buildings,
and in fact has made the farm what it is to-
day. He planted a good orchard, also set out
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
shade and ornamental trees which add to the
value and attractive appearance of the home.
The farm is now well improved and equipped
with all modern conveniences and the owner
is regarded as a most practical agriculturist,
who is making continuous progress in his
chosen field of labor.
Mr. Parker was united in marriage in Shia-
wassee county to Miss Hattie Swarthout, a na-
tive of Michigan. They began their domestic
life upon a farm where Mrs. Parker died and
later Mr. Parker was again married in Shia-
wassee county, his second union being with Miss
Gussie Schultz, a German lady, who died fifteen
months later. In Perry, Michigan, he wedded
Mrs. Clara Calkins, a widow, who by her for-
mer marriage had one son, Glenn Calkins, who
is assisting Mr. Parker in carrying on the
home farm.
A temperance man in principle and practice,
Mr. Parker is now voting with the prohibition
party. He has never desired or sought office,
preferring to give his time and attention to his
farm work and business interests. His entire
life has been passed in Clinton county and in
the development and progress of Victor town-
ship he has been closely associated. He is
familiar with its history and has intimate
knowledge of the efforts which have marked its
progress as the years have gone by and Clinton
county has taken its place among the leading
counties of this great commonwealth.
BENJAMIN F. YOUNG.
In his farming operations on section 3, Ben-
gal township, Mr. Young has found that in-
dustry and persistence constitute a sure and
safe basis of success, and as the years have
gone by he has so conducted his business af-
fairs that he has prospered and become the
owner of an improved farm of one hundred and
twenty acres. In the township where he yet
resides he first opened his eyes to the light of
day, his birthplace being his present farm and
the date February 17, 1844. His father was
Jonathan Young, a native of England, born in
Yorkshire, where he was reared and married
the first time. After crossing the Atlantic to
the new world he made his way direct to Michi-
gan in 1840, settling in Clinton county, and
here he married his second wife, Mrs. Hannah
Green, who was a widow and was one of the
early settlers of Bengal township. She had
entered land from the government here, becom-
ing owner of two hundred acres. Mr. Young
later cleared this land and continued the work
of farming, spending his remaining days on
that property. Both he and his wife died in
the year 1856.
Benjamin F. Young, the only son of this
union, was reared upon the old farm homestead
and was indebted to the district school of the
neighborhood for the educational privileges he
enjoyed. Following the death of his parents
he was under care of a guardian until he at-
tained his majority. He was only twenty years
of age, when in March, 1864, he re-
sponded to the country's call for troops,
enlisting in Company A of the Twenty-
third Michigan Infantry. He served in the
Army of Ohio under Generals Schofield and
Spaulding and participated in the battle of
Kenesaw Mountain, the Atlanta campaign, the
capture of the city of Atlanta, the battles of
Franklin and Nashville and a number of less
important engagements, serving until the close
of the war. During a part of the time he was
on detached duty at Raleigh, North Carolina,
and was there mustered out on the 5th of June,
1866. He lost no time while in the service
from sickness or other cause and after being
honorably discharged returned to his home in
Bengal township.
Mr. Young at once resumed farming and he
gained a companion and helpmate for life's
journey by his marriage, October 2, 1867, to
Miss Julia D. Grant, also a native of Bengal
township and a daughter of" Charles Grant, one
of the early settlers, who came from New York
state to Michigan about 1838. Mr. Young,
now having further impetus for renewed effort
in his farm work, cleared more land, fenced his
place and brought his fields up to a high state
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B. F. YOUNG.
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MRS. B. F. YOUNG.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
193
of cultivation. He has erected a substantial
residence here, also two good barns and two
granaries, together with other outbuildings for
the shelter of the stock. He has planted an
orchard, put in some tile and now has a well
developed farm of one hundred and twenty
acres which is largely given to the raising of
cereals best adapted to soil and climate. How-
ever, he also engages to some extent in stock-
raising, having good Durham cattle, Shrop-
shire sheep and Poland China hogs.
Mr. and Mrs. Young have become the par-
ents of four children: Viola A., the wife of
Herschel Hostettler, a farmer of Bengal town-
ship, and by whom she has five children, Earl,
Howard, Myron, Dorothy and Lawrence; Ida,
the wife of Merritt Ridnour, who has built a
neat residence and is now carrying on the
Young farm, and they have two children, Edna
and Carl; Myron, who died in early manhood
in 1900; and Charles L., who died at the age
of six years.
In politics Mr. Young is a true blue repub-
lican, casting his first presidential ballot for Gen-
eral Grant in 1868 and for each presidential
nominee of the party since that time. He has
taken quite an active interest in local elections
and has served for two terms as assessor and
four consecutive terms as supervisor, during
which time he acted on a number of important
committees, including the equalization, claims
and public buildings committees. He has like-
wise served as drain commissioner. He was
one of the charter members of Bengal town-
ship Grange, of which he served as master, and
he belongs to St. Johns post, G. A. R., while
he and his wife are devoted members of St.
Johns Methodist Episcopal church. From his
infancy down to the present time he has lived
upon the farm which is yet his home and has
many friends who have known him from his
boyhood to the present time. That his life has
been honorable and upright is indicated by the
fact that he yet receives their friendship and
warm regard. While carrying on his private
business interests he has never been neglectful
of the duties of citizenship and the creditable
military record which he made as a soldier of
the Union Army has been indicative of his
loyalty to civic honor and public progress in the
years that have since come and gone.
FRANK L. DOUGLAS.
One of the attractive modern residences in
Watertown township is the home of Frank L.
Douglas, who resides on section 17, where he
has a valuable and well improved farm. He is
a native of Avon, New York, born July 10,
185 1. His paternal grandfather, Caleb Douglas,
was a native of Sandersfield, Massachusetts,
born July 6, 1788. His mother died when he
was only three weeks old and in 1805 he re-
moved to Hubbard, New York, with the gentle-
man who had adopted him but he still kept the
name of Douglas. He purchased a farm in that
locality and there spent his remaining days,
passing away in 1839. He held membership in
the Baptist church and lived a life that com-
manded for him the respect and confidence of
all with whom he was associated. On the 2d
of July, 1807, he was married to Belinda Chap-
pell, a daughter of William Chappell, of Mas-
sachusetts.
Yates Douglas, father of our subject, was
torn in the Empire state and was there married
to Miss Eliza Adams, likewise a native of New
York. In the spring of 1870 they went to
Kansas, joining a colony at Blue Rapids, that
state. They were among the first settlers there
and the father made his home in Kansas
throughout the remainder of his life. He lived
there during the days of stockades and other
evidences of pioneer life and took a prominent
and helpful part in the development and
progress of that section of the country. He
died in 1890, at the age of sixty-seven years,
his birth having occurred in 1823, while his
wife, who was born in 1826, is still living in
Kansas. She was a daughter of Abraham
Adams, a native of Vermont, who removed to
New York and served his country as a captain
in the war of 18 12. He was fearless and out-
spoken and possessed a progressive spirit that
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
made him a valued citizen of the community in
which he resided. In the family of Yates and
Ann Eliza Douglas there were seven children:
Ora B. and Eugene Y., who are residents of
Kansas; Eliza A., the wife of Theodore Mc-
Grath, of Lemar, Colorado; Ellen V., the wife
of Clarence Jaqua, of Chicago; Alice E., the
wife of E. P. Bixby, of Kansas; Clarence M.,
who is also living in the Sunflower state; and
Frank L., the third in order of birth.
In the public schools of his native town
Frank L. Douglas acquired his education and
at the age of nineteen years went to Kansas,
where he engaged in merchandising ^ith his
father at Blue Rapids. He was also engaged
in teaming on the plains for three years and
then turned his attention to farming, entering
a claim on a quarter section of land in Mitchell
county, Kansas, whereon he remained for nine
years. In 1884 he arrived in Watertown town-
ship, Clinton county, Michigan, and settled on
section 17, purchasing one hundred and forty-
seven acres of land, whereon he now resides.
In the fall of 1895 he started with his wife
and son Bruce to Fitzgerald, Georgia, travel-
ing the entire distance by team and reaching his
destination after ten weeks spent upon the road.
The object of the trip made in this manner was
to benefit the health of the son. For six years
they remained in the south, during which time
Mr. Douglas was for one year an enlisted
soldier of the Spanish-American war. He was
not sent to the islands, however, but remained
at Tampa, Florida; Huntsville, Alabama, and
at Chickamauga Park. He was in the quarter-
master's department with Company D, of the
Fifth Maryland regiment and the depot quar-
termaster's department. On again coming
north Mr. Douglas visited the Pan-American
Exposition at Buffalo and then returned to the
farm in Watertown township whereon he has
since resided. His attention has been given in
undivided manner to the improvement and
cultivation of the farm and he now has fine
property. His house was burned to the ground
on the 1 6th of December, 1904, and in the
summer of 1905 he erected another residence
at a cost of thirty-five hundred dollars. It is
a fine country home, supplied with all modern
equipments and tastefully furnished. There are
also good outbuildings upon the place and every
facility needed to carry on the farm work.
On the 30th of November, 1881, Mr.
Douglas was united in marriage to Miss Addie
C, daughter of William and Cordelia (Gates)
Douglas, of Avon, New York. She was born
in Lima, that state, and her parents were also
natives of western New York. Her father died
June 16, 1899, at the age of seventy-nine years,
while his wife passed away in 1893, at the age
of seventy-four years. Mrs. Douglas of this
review was their only daughter, and was born
August 17, 1850. There has been one child
of this marriage, Bruce Bryant Douglas, who
was educated in the high school of St. Johns.
In his political views Mr. Douglas is a re-
publican and fraternally is connected with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which
he is past grand; and the Maccabees tent, of
which he is senior past commander, while his
wife is the senior past commander of the hive
of the same order. He is a progressive citizen,
keeping in touch with modern progress along
agricultural lines and is a man of genial dis-
position, whose many good traits of character
have gained for him the warm regard of a large
circle of friends.
HIRAM E. HOWELL.
Hiram E. Howell resides on section 9,
Dewitt township, where he owns and operates
a neat and an attractive farm of sixty acres.
He is numbered among the old settlers of the
state, for his residence in Michigan dates from
1843 an(l since 1870 he has lived in Clinton
county. He was born in Seneca county, New
York, March 11, 1840. His father, Isaac
Howell, was a native of the Empire state, where
he spent his youth and was married to Anna
Bloodgood, also a native of New York. In
1843 ne removed to Michigan with his family,
settling in Genesee county in the midst of the
forest, where he hewed out a farm. He had
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
195
to cut down the timber from his land and clear
away the brush before he could plow and plant
the fields but in the course of years he opened
up a good farm of eighty acres. Later he sold
this property and removed to Flint, where he re-
sided until his death. In his family were twelve
children, all of whom grew to manhood or
womanhood and the youngest, Martin, was a
soldier of the Union army in the Civil war and
was killed in the service. H. E. Howell and
three sisters are the surviving members of the
family.
Mr. Howell of this review spent the days
of his boyhood and youth in Genesee county
and after mastering the common branches of
learning in the public schools he attended the
high school at Flint. He remained with his
father throughout the period of his youth or
until 1 86 1, when on the 4th of December of that
year he responded to his country's call for aid
and joined the boys in blue of Company I,
Tenth Michigan Infantry. He then went south
and joined the Army of the Tennessee under
General Thomas. After participating in the
battle of Corinth, Mississippi, the regiment pro-
ceeded to Tennessee and Mr. Howell was in the
last battle at Nashville, having in the meantime
participated in the engagements of Stone River,
Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Tunnel
Hill, Buzzard's Roost and many others of less
importance. Having served for three years, he
re-enlisted as a veteran and was granted a fur-
lough of thirty days, after which he rejoined
his regiment at Resaca, Georgia, and partici-
pated in the battle there. Later he went on
the Atlanta campaign and assisted in the cap-
ture of Jonesboro and Atlanta, two of the im-
portant southern strongholds, and following the
capitulation of the latter city he went with Sher-
man on the celebrated march to the sea, partici-
pating in the battle of Raleigh, North Carolina.
After the surrender of General Lee he marched
with his command through Richmond and on
to Washington, D. C, where he participated in
the grand review, which was the event that
signalized the closing of the war. He lost no
time from the service on account of illness, for
he was never in the hospital and after receiving
an honorable discharge at Jackson, Michigan,
in 1865 he returned to his home, having made
a splendid record as a soldier.
Mr. Howell then went to Flint, where he
rested for a time after the arduous life of the
campaigner. He is a blacksmith by trade and
when he had somewhat recuperated after his
military experience he worked with his brother
at his trade in Flint. In 1870 he came to
Clinton county, settling on the farm where he
now resides. He also opened a blacksmith shop
on this place and did work for the people of the
neighborhood. His attention, however, has
been chiefly given to his agricultural pursuits
and he now has a good farm property, which in
its neat and thrifty appearance indicates his
careful supervision and practical methods.
In 1870 Mr. Howell was united in marriage
to Miss Maggie Irish, a native of New York,
where her girlhood days were passed. The
present Howell farm was formerly the old
Irish homestead and here Mr. Howell has car-
ried on both blacksmithing and agricultural
pursuits, making substantial improvements on
the land, including the erection of a good resi-
dence. In politics he has been a lifelong re-
publican, casting his first presidential ballot for
Abraham Lincoln while serving in the army
in 1864. He has never sought or desired office
but was elected and for one term acted as high-
way commissioner. He belongs to the Grand
Army post at Dewitt, of which he has been com-
mander, and has the warm regard of his old
army comrades and of the general public as
well.
ALONZO WEBSTER.
Alonzo Webster, a representative and sub-
stantial agriculturist of Bath township, having
a farm on sections 8 and 9, where he owns
and operates one hundred and sixty-six acres
of well improved land, was born in Oakland
county, Michigan, on the 22A of October, 1848.
His father, John Webster, is mentioned on
another page of this work in connection with
the sketch of Mervin Webster, who is a brother
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
of our subject. In the year 1867 Alonzo
Webster accompanied his parents on their re-
moval to this county and the remainder of his
minority was passed upon the farm where he
now resides. He and his brother Mervin
cleared, improved and made this farm, but later
he worked out by the month as a farm hand
for a few years. He then returned to the old
homestead, bought the interest of the other heirs
in the property and succeeded to the owner-
ship of the place. He has built a good resi-
dence here, also substantial barns and other
necessary outbuildings. A good orchard of his
own planting yields its fruits in season and the
well kept fields are divided by fences which he
has built. He has altogether a valuable farm,
equipped with modern accessories and con-
veniences.
Mr. Webster was married, in Bath township,
April 20, 1876, to Miss Lucetta Wilson,
whose birth occurred in Livingston county,
Michigan, and who is a daughter of John W.
Wilson, one of the early settlers of Livingston
county. He became a soldier of the Union
army at the time of the Civil war and laid
down his life on the altar of his country. Mrs.
Webster was reared in Livingston and Clinton
counties and is a lady of good education, who
for some years prior to her marriage engaged
in teaching. She has become the mother of
three children ; Willard, a young man at home,
who in connection with his father, owns and
operates two hundred and twenty-four acres of
land ; Ruth, who was formerly a capable teacher
of Clinton county, but was married August
30, 1905, to Francis Eschtruth, of this county;
and Elmer, with his parents.
In early life Mr. Webster gave his political
allegiance to the democracy but is now a stal-
wart republican and supported William Mc-
Kinley and Theodore Roosevelt for the presi-
dency. He was elected and served for one year
as supervisor of Bath township and served on
the committee on public buildings and also on
other important committees. For four or five
years he was township treasurer, called to the
office by popular vote, and for a quarter of a
century has been a member of the school board.
V
He has likewise served as moderator and dis-
trict clerk and his long continuance in office
is proof of his capability and fidelity to the
general welfare. He and his wrife are loyal
and valued members of the Methodist Episco-
pal church, in which he is serving as one of
the trustees and stewards. He is likewise a
member of Bath lodge, No. 124, I. O. O. F.,
has filled all of its chairs and is past grand,
while in the grand lodge of the state he has
been a representative. Both he and his wife
are connected with Rebekah lo!dge, of which she
is a very prominent member, has filled all of its
chairs and is past noble grand. They are both
highly esteemed, the circle of their friends being
co-extensive with the circle of their acquaint-
ance.
ELI A. SMITH.
A farm of one hundred acres, well improved
and highly cultivated, is the property of Eli
A. Smith and lies on section 23, Lebanon town-
ship. Since 1875 Mr. Smith has made his
home in Clinton county, coming to the west
from Pennsylvania, his native state. He was
born in York county, April 3, 1854, and is a
son of William C. Smith, a native of Mary-
land, who when a lad went to Pennsylvania and
was there reared. In that state he wedded
Catherine Florea, a native of Pennsylvania, and
he followed farming in York county for some-
time, after which he removed to Seneca county,
Ohio, where he carried on general agricultural
pursuits for five years. In 1865 he came to
Michigan, settling in Clinton county, where he
bought eighty acres of land, after which he be-
gan its cultivation and improvement. Eventu-
ally he sold that property and returned to the
Buckeye state, but after a year again came to
Michigan, settling in Gratiot county, where he
spent his remaining days. .His wife also passed
away there in 1888. Their family numbered
four sons and four daughters and with the ex-
ception of one daughter all are yet living.
Eli A. Smith was reared in Essex and
Lebanon townships and at an early age started
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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out in life on his own account, working by the
month as a farm hand for seven years. He was
married in Essex township on the 2d of March,
1878, to Miss Susan Ridenour, a native of that
township and a daughter of John Ridenour, one
of the early settlers of Ohio. The young couple
located on a forty acre farm, which he had
previously purchased in Dallas township, but
after cultivating that tract for about a year Mr.
Smith sold the property and bought forty acres
where he now resides on section 23, Lebanon
township. He then turned his attention to
cultivating and improving this tract and when
his financial resources made possible the pur-
chase of additional land he extended the
boundaries of his farm until he now has one
hundred acres, all in one body. He has built a
neat brick residence which is surrounded by a
well kept lawn enclosed in an iron fence. There
are cement walks about the place and in fact
this is one of the fine country homes of the
township, having modern conveniences and
tasteful furnishings, while its hospitality is
most enjoyable, being freely and graciously
accorded to the many friends of the family.
Mr. Smith has also built two large barns, a
good granary and tool house, has sunk a deep
well, put in a wind pump and has added other
modern equipments, including the latest im-
proved machinery.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been
blessed with five children: Mrs. Valma Lyon,
who formerly engaged in teaching and now re-
sides with her father, having one son, Harold
Lyon; Myrtie M., the wife of Burt Hiner, a
farmer living on land adjoining her father's
place; and William John and Herman E., both
at home. They lost their first born, Sylvia A.,
who died at the age of ten months.
Politically Mr. Smith is a republican, in-
terested in the party and its success and doing
all in his power to promote its progress and
secure the adoption of its principles. He was
elected and served as drain commissioner and
acted as justice of the peace for a year to fill out
a vacancy but has never been active as a poli-
tician, preferring to give his undivided atten-
tion to his business interests. He is a member
13
of the Grange, of the Lebanon Farmers' Club
and of three fraternal insurance companies, in-
cluding the Maccabees and Northwestern In-
surance Company. His life is characterized by
industry and unabating energy and everything
about his place is characterized by system and
order. He is, moreover, a self-made man, who
as a farm hand started out in life on his own
account and has gradually worked his way
upward and now has valuable property interests.
JOHN FIZZELL.
John Fizzell, living on section 17, Duplain
township, is one of the active, thrifty and pros-
perous farmers, owning and operating a valu-
able and well improved tract of land of eighty
acres. He has been an interested witness of the
progress and development of Clinton county
since 187 1 and since 1866 has made his home
in Michigan. He is a native of Canada, hav-
ing been born in Ontario, on the 3d of March,
1854. He is a son of William Fizzell and a
brother of William Fizzell, Jr., whose sketch
appears elsewhere in this work. With his par-
ents he came to Michigan in 1866, being then
a youth of eight years, the family home being
established in Wayne county, where he was
reared to manhood, acquiring his education in
the public schools of Wayne and Clinton
counties. He remained with his father on the
farm until he had attained his majority and as
his age and strength permitted more and more
largely assisted in the work of the fields. He
first began earning his own living by working
as a farm hand by the month and in that
capacity he was employed for several years
and during that period he saved his earnings.
Later he and his brother William bought
eighty acres of land together, each having forty
acres, and John Fizzell began to clear, fence
and open up his farm. Afterward he bought
another tract of twenty acres and still later
twenty acres additional, so that he now has a
good farm of eighty acres, on which he has
built a substantial and neat residence, also good
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
barns and outbuildings. He has likewise
planted an orchard, fenced the place and divided
it into fields of convenient size, which are now
cleared of stumps and yield rich harvests an-
nually.
On the nth of November, 1879, Mr. Fizzell
was united in marriage to Miss Alice Avery,
a daughter of T. C. Avery, formerly of New
York. Mfs. Fizzell was reared and educated
in Michigan, however, and by her marriage has
become the mother of two children, Charles C.
and Ruby. They also have an adopted child,
Emery, who became a member of the household
in infancy at the time of the mother's death,
Mrs. Fizzell being his aunt.
Politically Mr. Fizzell is an earnest repub-
lican, who keeps well informed on the ques-
tions and issues of the day, but has never sought
or cared for office, preferring to give his time
and attention to his business interests, in which
he is meeting with signal success. He and his
wife are consistent members of the Duplain
Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Fiz-
zell is one of the trustees. He is likewise a
Sunday-school worker and has served as su-
perintendent of the Sunday-school for three
years, while his wife has been a teacher in the
school. He belongs to the local Grange, of
which he is now master, and he maintains a
deep and helpful interest in every movement
and measure that is calculate^! to benefit the
material, intellectual or moral progress of the
community. He has lived a life of uprightness
and honor and in the years of his residence in
Clinton county, covering more than a third
of a century, he has enjoyed in full measure the
trust of his fellowmen.
ALEXANDER W. MORRISON.
Alexander W. Morrison started out in life
on his own account when only thirteen years
of age. To-day he is a prosperous citizen of
St. Johns, living retired with a competence that
surrounds him with all of the comforts and
many of the luxuries that go to make life worth
the living. He is a native son of Michigan,
and a typical representative of the west, be-
longing to that class to whom the great middle
section of the country owes its late progress and
advancement. He was born April 2, 1842, his
parents being Hamilton and Jane (McKee)
Morrison. The father was born in Glasgow,
Scotland, and his wife was a native of Catskill,
Newr York. Their married life was spent in
Michigan, having removed from Albany, New
York, to this state about 1837. They lived for
a time in Detroit, after which they took tip
their abode in a house that stood on the present
site of the Hudson store in that city. The
father was foreman of the Michigan Central
Railroad Company there for forty years or
more. Unto him and his wife were born six
children, of whom George H. and Alexander
W. are now living, while those who have
passed away are Hamilton, Mary, Charlotte and
Addie.
Alexander W. Morrison had little oppor-
tunity to acquire an education. He lived at
home until 1856, when at the age of thirteen
years he entered the employ of the Michigan
Central Railroad Company, working for fifty
cents per day in the truck department. He con-
tinued there through the summer and in the
late autumn entered school, pursuing his studies
through the winter months. In the spring of
1857 he went on an expedition to Lake Su-
perior and assisted in building a store house at
Houghton for the Franklin mine. After six
weeks in that district he returned to Detroit
and secured work at trucking on the docks. His
duty was the weighing of freight and the su-
pervision of the loading of lumber going over
the Michigan Central Railroad from the
various mills. In the meantime the Grand
Trunk Railroad was built and Mr. Morrison
was given the position to look after its yard
and keep it clear of lumber. In this capacity
he had supervision over twelve men. He loaded
the first cars there that were sent east over the
Grand Trunk line. He had charge of the docks
and receipted for all cargoes coming to the
docks and at times employed fifty men.
Mr. Morrison was thus engaged until after
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ALEXANDER W. MORRISON.
Bement Public Library
St. Johns, Michigan
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
203
the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted
as a member of Company H, Twenty-fourth
Michigan regiment, joining the army as a
private. He was mustered in in July, 1862, at
Detroit, under Captain Warren A. Vinton, and
participated in two important engagements at
Fredericksburg and the hotly contested battle of
Gettysburg, and in all of the principal battles
of the Army of the Potomac. He was under
fire at Antietam and with Grant at Petersburg.
On his arrival at Petersburg on the skirmish
line he threw himself into a pit, laying there all
day with the shells flying over him. At this
time he was made orderly and was attached to
General Bragg's staff until February 7, 1865,
when at Danby's Mills he was taken prisoner,
being engaged at that time in carrying orders
for General Bragg. Being captured he was
sent to Richmond and placed in the Pemberton
prison, where he remained for four days, when
he came under general parole of all prisoners of
the United States and went to Annapolis,
being sent thence to Columbus, Ohio, where he
was given thirty days' furlough, which period
he spent in Detroit. In the meantime his regi-
ment was sent to Springfield, Illinois, to take
charge of Camp Butler and on the expiration
of his time of furlough Mr. Morrison rejoined
his regiment at Springfield and soon afterward
went to New York city with a carload of
troops to Bedloe's Island. After two days he
was detailed and returned to Toledo, Ohio, and
on to Springfield, Illinois. When on the way
to New York he learned of the assassination of
President Lincoln, the news being received at
Toledo, and when he returned to the Illinois
capital he attended the funeral of the martyred
president, his regiment acting as escort on that
occasion. Leaving Springfield he went to De-
troit, where he was mustered out in the sum-
mer of 1865. At the celebration held at Get-
tysburg, Mr. Morrison was the only man
eligible to carry the brigade flag, which was
brought from Madison, Wisconsin, for the oc-
casion and which had been purchased at a cost
of five hundred dollars and presented to the
brigade by residents of Indiana, Michigan and
Wisconsin.
When the war was over Mr. Morrison re-
turned to Detroit and again entered the railroad
service, having charge of a gang of men un-
loading flour, pork and freight, which was
being shipped east by water through the lakes.
He occupied that position for three years, when
Captain Ward, of Chicago, offered him a posi-
tion which he refused, and again he entered the
truck department with increased wages, filling
the position for four years.
In 1874 Mr. Morrison returned to St. Johns,
where he embarked in the restaurant business
on Clinton avenue, being thus engaged for three
years. He then returned to Detroit and for a
year was on the police force, after which he
once more took up his abode in St. Johns and
purchased a lot where his present fine brick
block now stands. He again opened a restaur-
ant and within two years had discharged all his
financial obligations on the property which he
had purchased and made additions to the store,
continuing its improvement until the present
large brick business block was completed. He
conducted his restaurant with excellent success
for fourteen years, his capable management and
keen business discrimination gaining for him a
merited degree of prosperity. He then retired
to look after his other business interests and is
now giving general supervision to his invest-
ments.
Mr. Morrison was married, in 1865, to Miss
Sarah Bush, a daughter of Hiram Bush, of
Detroit, and she died in 1867, at the age of
twenty-six years. In 1878 he married Anna
Lewis, of Detroit, a native of Springfield, Mas-
sachusetts. Mr. Morrison belongs to Grisson
post, G. A. R., thus maintaining pleasant re-
lations with his old army comrades. He
manifests an active interest in the leading af-
fairs of the day. Surrounded in his home by
those who are his warm personal friends and
favorably known in other sections of the state,
his career is one to which his family and his
friends may refer with just pride. Endowed
by nature with a sound judgment and an ac-
curate discriminating mind he has not feared
that laborious attention to business so necessary
to achieve success and this essential quality
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
has been guided by a sense of right, which
would tolerate the employment only of the
means that will bear closest investigation and
scrutiny.
WILLIAM H. CASTLE.
The inherent force of character which en-
abled William H. Castle to work his way
through college has also brought him gratifying
success as a member of the bar of Clinton
county. He resides in St. Johns and is a native
of Washtenaw county, Michigan, born March
1 8, 1846. His parents, William and Betsey
(Stevens) Castle, were natives of New York
and Massachusetts respectively and were mar-
ried in Michigan. The father came to this state
in 1837, settling in Washtenaw county, and in
1 85 1 he removed to Montcalm county, this
state, where he carried on general agricultural
pursuits. He served as supervisor there and
was somewhat prominent in public affairs. He
died in 1888, at the advanced age of seventy-
six years, while his wife passed away in 1900,
at the age of eighty-two years. Little is known
concerning the ancestral history of the family
save that Amos Castle, the paternal grand-
father, was a resident of the state of New York,
while Joseph Stevens, the maternal grandfather,
lived for some years in Massachusetts and after-
ward became a pioneer resident of Washtenaw
county, Michigan. Subsequently he removed
to Montcalm county, settling in Bushnell
township, where he died in 1863, at the age of
seventy-three years.
William H. Castle began his education in the
district schools, having the privilege of attend-
ing for only about two months during a three
months' winter term until seventeen years of
age, for his services were largely needed upon
the home farm and he worked in the fields
from the time of early spring planting until
after crops were harvested in the late autumn.
There came a decided change in his life, how-
ever, in January, 1864, at which time he was
mustered into the Union army as a member of
Company F, First Michigan Cavalry, with
whom he served for a year and a half, being
mustered out on the 15th of June, 1865. He
came home on parole and was discharged by
telegraph order which was sent to all sick and
wounded soldiers. He had been wounded in
the left shoulder March 31, 1865, while the
army was on the move supporting General
Grant near Pittsburg, Virginia. He afterward
lay in the hospital at Camp Stoneman for two
and a half months, after which he rejoined his
regiment and was in the campaign under
General Sheridan. He took part in many im-
portant engagements, including the battle of
Winchester where Sheridan made his famous
ride and rallied the Union forces, the day which
first threatened defeat ending in a glorious
victory. He was also in the battle of Cedar
Creek.
Following the war Mr. Castle remained upon
the home farm until 1869, when he entered the
Union school at Greenville, Michigan. A year
later he engaged in teaching for one term and
then resumed his studies in Union school, after
which he again became an instructor. In 1871
he pursued a classical course at Union school
at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in 1873 entered
the law department of the State University,
from which he was graduated in the spring of
1874, when twenty-eight years of age. He had
to work his way through college, but he ever
developed his latent talents and resources and
displayed the elemental strength of his char-
acter. Following his graduation and his ad-
mission to the bar he opened an office for prac-
tice in Ovid, Michigan, where he continued
until 1885, when he came to St. Johns and has
since been a representative of the legal fra-
ternity of this city. He has been connected
with much important litigation tried in the
courts of his district and is a busy lawyer. He
is also interested in farming and, having pur-
chased the old homestead, is now the owner of
a valuable farm property.
In 1874 Mr. Castle was married to Miss
Alice E. Nicholas, a daughter of Professor
Benjamin E. Nichols, who is connected with
the public schools of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
She is a lady of superior education and intel-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
205
lectual attainments and with her husband occu-
pies an enviable position in social circles of St.
Johns. They have one son, Earl W. Castle,
Who for three years was engaged in teaching
at Bessemer, Michigan, and is now professor of
mathematics at Wittenberg College, Springfield,
Ohio. Politically Mr. Castle is a Bryan
democrat and previous to the promulgation of
his principles by the Nebraska statesman he
advocated the platform of the greenback party.
In the fall of 1874 he was elected circuit court
commissioner and has since held the office for
four terms. In manner affable and obliging,
ever considerate of the welfare of others, his
personal characteristics have gained him a large
circle of warm friends.
DAVID S. FRENCH.
David S. French, a well known represent-
ative of republican circles in Clinton county and
a representative of agricultural interests in
Greenbush township, was born in Lawrence-
burg, Indiana, April 4, 1844, his parents being
Lewis and Maria (Sargent) French, the former
a native of Virginia, and the latter of Miami
county, Ohio. David French became a student
in the Woodward high school at Cincinnati
but his education was abruptly ended by the out-
break of the Civil war. He had watched with
interest the progress of events in the south and
resolved that if secession was attempted he
would strike a blow in defense of the Union.
Accordingly he left school to answer his coun-
try's call to arms, enlisting as a private in the
Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he
served for three months. On the expiration of
that period he re-enlisted as a private of the
One Hundred and Tenth Ohio Infantry and
remained with that command until the close
of the war. He participated in thirty-five dif-
ferent engagements the more important of
which were Winchester, Opequan, Strasburg,
Alltown, Kernstown, Cedar Creek, Fisher's
Hill, Stanton, Monocacy, Harper's Ferry,
Gettysburg, Ream's Station, Manassas Gap,
Culpeper, Brandy Station, Wilderness, Cold
Harbor, Petersburg, Richmond, Mine Run,
Sailor's Creek and Appomattox, of which the
latter was his last engagement. His regiment
proceeded to Washington to be mustered out,
which event occurred on the 1st of July, 1865.
After the battle of Opequan Mr. French was
made first lieutenant and held that rank through-
out the remainder of the war. He seemed to
bear a charmed existence for though he was
often in the thickest of the fight where the *
leaden hail fell thickest he was never wounded.
His regiment was attached to the Sixth Army
Corps of the Army of the Potomac.
After receiving his final discharge Lieuten-
ant French returned home and engaged in the
lumber business in Piqua, Ohio, until 1871.
In that year he arrived in Clinton county and
became connected with the St. Johns Manu-
facturing Company, which association was
maintained until June 15, 1899. During that
time he purchased a farm on section 28, Green-
bush township, on which he made his home,
driving to his place of business each morning.
The place consists of three hundred and twenty
acres four miles from St. Johns. He has made
nearly all of the improvements upon the farm
and has now an excellent property, in the
midst of which stands a beautiful home, taste-
fully and richly furnished and supplied with
all the comforts that go to make life worth
living.
On the 24th of May, 1866, Mr. French was
married to Miss Camelia M. Mitchell, a daugh-
ter of Joseph M. Mitchell, of Miami county,
Ohio. There were two children by this mar-
riage, but Fanny died July 31, 1869, and Bes-
sie L. passed away April 18, 1882.
Mr. French is one of the most prominent
representatives of the republican party in Clin-
ton county. In 1861 he experienced one of
the proudest moments of his life when he had
the honor of being one of the Cincinnati
Zouaves who were appointed as personal escort
to Abraham Lincoln as he passed through the
streets of the city on his way to Washington
to be inaugurated president of the United
States. Mr. French has been called to various
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
206
local offices of honor and public trust, serving
as mayor of St. Johns in 1876, 1877 and 1878
and giving to the city a public-spirited ad-
ministration characterized by the same fidelity,
discrimination and devotion to his duties as in
the conduct of his private business interests.
On the 1st of January, 1897, Mr. French was
elected county treasurer and was re-elected each
year until January 1, 1901. He has for many
years been a member of the district school board
and over his official record there falls no
shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil for his
entire public service has been characterized by
an unfaltering fidelity to the general good. He
is a member of St. Johns lodge, No. 105, A. F.
& A. M. ; St. Johns chapter, No. 45, R. A. M. ;
St. Johns commandery, No. 24, K. T. ; Moslem
Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Detroit and
the Michigan Sovereign Consistory. He like-
wise belongs to Charles E. Grisson post, No.
156, G. A. R., of St. Johns, of which he is
past commander. Mr. French possesses the
personal qualities that have made him a suc-
cessful business man and honored representative
of fraternal interests and a leader in political
circles. He has been and is distinctively a man
of affairs and one who has wielded a wide in-
fluence.
WINFIELD SCOTT DILLS.
Winfield Scott Dills is known as one of the
representative public men of Dewitt township,
having resided in this county for more than
a half century, winning prominence as
the champion of many progressive move-
ments that have resulted beneficially for
his locality. He was born in Oakland
county, this state, January 30, 1847. His
father, William Dills, was a native of New
York and is mentioned on another page of this
work. The family was established in Oakland
county at a very early period in its develop-
ment and William Dills was married there to
Maria Hilliker, a native of the Empire state.
In 1852 he arrived in this county, settling in
Olive township, where he purchased a tract of
land and improved a farm. He afterward sold
that place and now resides with a daughter in
Olive township. He still owns a forty-acre
farm.
Winfield Scott Dills was reared in this
county and began his education in the district
schools of Olive township, continuing his
studies in the public schools of Dewitt. No
event of special importance occurred to vary the
routine of farm life for him in his youth and
he assisted in carrying on the home place until
thirty-one years of age. He was married in the
village of Dewitt to Miss Ella Amelia Bowker,
the wedding being celebrated February 20,
1878. Mrs. Dills is a native of New York, as
was her father, Albert Bowker,, who in early
manhood came west to Michigan, settling in
Albion, where he was married, after which he
returned to the Empire state. Again he came
to Michigan in 1861, establishing his home in
Isabelle county, while in 187 1 he came to Clin-
ton county. Mr. and Mrs. Dills began their
domestic life upon a farm in Dewitt township
and to the cultivation of his land he devoted
his energies for a number of years but in 1893
purchased a lot and erected a good residence in
the village where he now resides. He sold
eighty-four acres of land on which is a sub-
stantial dwelling and other improvements, mak-
ing it a valuable place. He has always en-
gaged in buying and dealing in horses since
becoming a factor in business life and has been
very successful as a stock dealer and shipper.
He is one of the directors and managers and
also collector for the Grange Insurance Com-
pany and is acting on its auditing board.
Mr. and Mrs. Dills have two sons : Winfield
Scott, at home; and Clair B., a farmer of Olive
township, who is married and has one son,
Ernest Ray. In his political affiliation the sub-
ject of this review is a republican and was ap-
pointed deputy sheriff for Dewitt, in which
position he served for a time. He was also
elected and served as pathmaster and is now
overseer of highways in Dewitt township, filling
the last named office for more than seventeen
years. He has likewise been a member of the
school board for a number of years and his
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MR. AND MRS. W. S. DILLS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
209
interest in general progress and improvement is
that of a public-spirited citizen, who never fails
to give his co-operation to measures for the
general good. He belongs to the Grange, in
which he was one of the organizers. He has
invested in considerable real estate in Dewitt
and now owns an attractive modern home. He
is well known in Lansing and St. Johns and in
Clinton and adjoining counties, and he and his
estimable wife are held in high regard by all
who know them.
WILLIAM J. MOSS.
William J. Moss, living on section 33, Essex
township, owns the old Moss homestead farm
of one hundred and thirty-five acres. It was
upon this farm that he first opened his eyes to
the light of day on the 31st of August, 1875.
His father, W. J. Moss, Sr., was a native of
the Empire state, born in Cayuga county, in
1826, and a son of Solomon Moss, who was
likewise a native of New York. The family
comes of English ancestry and was established
in the new world at an early period in its
colonization, the first representatives of the
name settling in Bedford, Massachusetts, in
1668. Later generations of the family removed
to the Empire state, where Solomon Moss was
born, reared and married. In 1840 he removed
westward to Michigan and made a permanent
location in the forests of Clinton county, where
he entered a tract of land, from which he and
his sons cleared away the timber and thus
opened up a farm. William Moss, Sr., had fair
common-school advantages in the Empire state
and after coming to Clinton county engaged in
teaching to some extent. He also assisted in the
arduous task of developing a new farm and was
familiar with the difficulties and hardships
which confronted the early settlers in their en-
deavors to reclaim this district for the purposes
of civilization. He was married here to Miss
Esther Ann Yound, a native of Pennsylvania
and a daughter of Daniel Yound, who on leav-
ing the Keystone state went to Ohio, whence he
afterward came to Michigan, settling first in
Ionia county. William Moss, Sr., continued
his farming operations, built a good neat resi-
dence and barn, and also added other equipments
of a modern farm. Upon this place he reared
his family and continued his residence up to the
time of his death, which occurred May 18,
1 89 1. His widow, surviving him for more than
ten years, passed away on the 12th of Septem-
ber, 1902. In their family were five children,
of whom four are yet living, but the eldest,
Charles, who was reared and married in Clin-
ton county, died February 14, 1889, at tne age
of twenty-nine years. The others are as fol-
lows: Kent, who is a farmer of Bengal town-
ship; Solomon, of Dawson, Alaska; Sarah, the
wife of Byron Parr, of St. Johns; and Wil-
liam J.
In taking up the personal history of William
J. Moss we present to our readers the life record
of one widely and favorably known in this
county for he has spent his entire life here and
has ever commanded the esteem of those with
whom he has been brought in contact. He was
reared upon the old homestead farm and after
acquiring his early education in the public
schools continued his studies in St. Johns high
school, from which he was graduated with the
class of 1893. He then returned home and took
charge of his father's farm and business. As
the years have passed he has further improved
the place and while he still occupies the old
home he has added a good barn and fenced the
land and has kept everything about the place
in neat and thrifty condition, annually harvest-
ing good crops, and he has also engaged in
breeding and raising pure blooded Shorthorn
cattle, being known as one of the leading stock-
raisers of his locality. He makes a study of
the rotation of the crops and the needs of the
farm, carries on his work along modern lines
and is an active and interested member of a
number of farmers' clubs, wherein is dissemi-
nated a knowledge of the best methods of farm
work gleaned from the experiences and experi-
ments of people from all parts of the country.
Mr. Moss was married in the town of Essex,
November 6, 1898, to Miss Nellie Parr, a na-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
tive of Clinton county and a daughter of Joseph
Parr, a substantial farmer of Essex township.
Mrs. Moss was born, reared and educated in
this township and has made many friends dur-
ing her residence in this county. Fraternally
Mr. Moss is connected with Maple Rapids
lodge, F. & A. M., and he and his wife belong
to the Order of the Eastern Star. He votes
with the democracy and was elected and served
as supervisor for one term of Essex township,
acting as a member of the drain, appropriation
and other committees. His entire life has been
passed upon the farm which is yet his home. The
land was entered from the government by his
grandfather, Solomon Moss, and the title has
since passed from father to son, Mr. Moss of
this review now holding the original patent
signed by President James Monroe. He is well
known in St. Johns and throughout the county,
where he is regarded as a good business man
and farmer. His interest in the welfare and
progress of this part of the state is deep and
sincere and his co-operation has been given to
many measures for the general good.
ADAM C. RUMBAUGH.
Adam C. Rumbaugh, one of the thrifty and
prosperous farmers of Clinton county, who also
owns a well improved farm of eighty acres in
Saginaw county and a neat little place of three
acres in Elsie whereon stands his residence, has
since 1879 made his home in Michigan. A
native of Ohio, his birth occurred in Wayne
county on the 20th of May, 1843. The ancestry
of the family can be traced back to Germany,
from which country there emigrated to the
new world three brothers, Jacob, David and
Solomon Rumbaugh, all of whom settled in
Pennsylvania. Later Solomon removed to Vir-
ginia and was killed there by the Indians prior
to the Revolutionary war. David settled in
Canada, while Jacob, the great-great-grand-
father of Adam C. Rumbaugh, took up his
abode in New Jersey and later lived in Penn-
sylvania. He was the father of twenty-one
children, twenty of whom reached adult age.
Isaac Rumbaugh was reared in Ohio, spending
his youth largely in Wayne county. His father,
Adam Rumbaugh, was one of the three first
settlers of Chester township, that county, and
upon the old homestead there Isaac Rumbaugh
was reared. His wife, Mary Rumbaugh, was
a native of Pennsylvania, but spent her girlhood
largely in Ohio. She was a daughter of Daniel
Rumbaugh and the two families were distantly
related. The children of Isaac and Mary
Rumbaugh were five in number, of whom four
are living : Susan, the wife of Wilson Clemens,
of Altamont, Illinois; Daniel, who is living at
Chicago Junction, Ohio; Adam C, of this re-
view; and Elizabeth, the wife of Freeman
Hoch, of Homerville, Medina county, Ohio.
After losing his first wife the father married
again.
Adam C. Rumbaugh, whose name introduces
this record, spent the days of his childhood and
youth in Wayne county, Ohio, and was a
student in the public schools until he had largely
mastered the branches of learning therein
taught. He was a youth of nineteen years when
he responded to the country's call for aid, en-
listing on the 15th of August, 1862, as a mem-
. ber of Company E, One Hundred and
Twentieth Ohio Infantry. The regiment was
assigned to the western department and the first
battle in which he participated was at Cham-
pion Hill. Later he was in the siege of Vicks-
burg and was present at its surrender. He also
aided in the re-capture of Jackson, in the battle
of Arkansas Post, and did active service in
Texas and Louisiana along the Red river and
in the battle of Fort Blakely. For about two
months he was in the convalescent camp at New
Orleans and served until the close of the war,
when he was honorably discharged and mus-
tered out at Houston, Texas, on the 14th of
October, 1865. He made a creditable military
record, for he never faltered in the performance
of any duty whether it called him into the thick-
est of the fight or stationed him on the lonely
picket line. When the war was over he re-
turned to his home in Ohio and was engaged in
the operation of the old homestead farm there
for three years.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
211
On the expiration of that period Mr. Rum-
baugh was married on the 28th of December,
1869, to Miss Catherine Shank, whose birth
occurred in Wayne county, Ohio, her father,
Daniel Shank, being one of the early settlers of
the state. The young couple began their
domestic life upon a rented farm, where they
lived for two years, and then in 1871 removed
to Illinois, settling in Effingham county near
Altamont. There Mr. Rumbaugh again rented
land for three years, after which he returned to
Wayne county, Ohio, and was engaged in farm-
ing in Ashland and Wayne counties for four
years. In 1879 he came to Michigan, settling
first at Chapin, Saginaw county, where he pur-
chased forty acres of land in the midst of the
forest. Here he cleared and developed a farm
and later he bought forty acres more, thus be-
coming owner of a good place of eighty acres.
He erected thereon a substantial dwelling, good
barns and outbuildings and continued in the
work of improvement and cultivation until he
had developed a valuable farm property which
annually returned to him a gratifying income
for the labor which he bestowed upon it. There
he successfully carried on general agricultural
pursuits until 1902, when he rented his land and
bought three acres adjoining Elsie. He built
thereon a good residence and now has an at-
tractive home, giving his time to keeping up this
property. Mr. Rumbaugh started out in life
with no capital save a strong determination to
win success if it could be accomplished through
honorable effort and to-day he is one of the sub-
stantial residents of this part of the state.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rumbaugh have been
born four children: Burtice, who married
Sophia O'Hare and is carrying on the home
farm; and Martha E., who makes her home
with her parents. Those deceased are Chal-
mers and Lorinda.
In politics Mr. Rumbaugh was formerly a
democrat but is now identified with the repub-
lican party, having voted for Presidents Mc-
Kinley and Roosevelt. In Saginaw he was
elected township treasurer, in which capacity he
served for five years, was clerk one year and
justice of the peace one year. He was ap-
pointed justice of the peace to fill out a vacancy
and was on the school board for twenty-one
consecutive years, or until his removal to Elsie.
Fraternally he is connected with the Chapin
lodge of Odd Fellows. His life has been an
honorable and upright one, in which he has
given due attention to the varied duties that
have devolved upon him in his relations to his
business interests, his fellowmen, the community
and the country at large. Ever loyal to any
public or private trust, he has gained and re-
tained the friendship and regard of those with
whom he has been associated.
R. H. MOOTS.
R. H. Moots, living on section 29, Dewitt
township, is a prosperous and prominent farmer
and stock-raiser, having one hundred and sixty
acres of land, which constitutes a valuable farm
property. He is a native son of Michigan, his
birth having occurred in Ingham county on the
14th of May, 1858. His father, Henry Moots,
was born in the city of Berlin, Germany, in
1826 and grew to manhood in his native
country, after which he emigrated to the new
world with his mother and her family in 1850.
They came direct to Michigan, settling at
Lansing, Ingham county. In early life Mr.
Moots learned the trade of a carpenter and
joiner and later became a contractor and builder
of Lansing, erecting the old Union school and
other public buildings there. He was married
in Lansing to Christiana Leadley, who was born
in Wurtemberg, Germany, and in 1863 he came
with his family to Clinton county, purchasing
two hundred acres of land near Dewitt. He
then located on this tract and engaged in farm-
ing, further improving the property up to the
time of his death, which occurred in July, 1894.
His wife still survives him and is now living
with a daughter at Lansing. In their family
were two sons and five daughters, all of whom
are yet living.
R. H. Moots has spent the greater part of his
life in Clinton county, having been reared upon
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212
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
the old family homestead here, while his edu-
cation was acquired in the schools of Dewitt.
He remained with his father on the old home-
stead until twenty-seven years of age, when he
went to Lansing, where he was employed in a
meat market for about a year. In 1886 he
purchased a farm of eighty acres in Dewitt
township and settled thereon, giving his time
and energies to the tilling of the soil and the
raising of crops. He resided there until 1901,
when he sold that property and bought one
hundred and sixty acres on section 29, Dewitt
township, where he now resides. This has good
buildings and modern equipments and in fact
is one of the best improved places in the town-
ship and in connection with the cultivation of
the cereals best adapted to soil and climate Mr.
Moots is successfully engaged in raising, feed-
ing and shipping stock, being one of the most
prosperous representatives of this line of busi-
ness in the township.
On the 15th of November, 1890, in Water-
town, Clinton county, R. H. Moots was mar-
ried to Miss Nora Reeves, a native of Clinton
county, reared and educated here, and a daugh-
ter of Thomas Reeves, who was a native of
England. Mr. and Mrs. Moots have two chil-
dren, Helene and Leadley. Politically Mr.
Moots is a stanch republican but was reared in
the faith of the democratic party. He has never
sought or desired office, however, but has given
his time and attention to his business interests.
Fraternally he is a Master Mason, his affiliation
being with the blue lodge at Dewitt.
JOHN M. KOSHT.
The farming interests of Ovid township are
well represented by John M. Kosht, now liv-
ing on section 21, where he has a good farm,
well improved and highly developed. He is a
native of Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, born
October 29, 1830. His parents, George and
Polly (Miller) Kosht, were also natives of the
Keystone state and after their marriage re-
moved to Ohio, while subsequently they came
to Michigan about 1858, settling in Ovid town-
ship, Clinton county. The father purchased
land on section 29 but eventually sold this and
purchased a second farm on section 28, where
he spent his remaining days, passing away at
the venerable age of eighty years. His wife
died when their son John was a youth of four-
teen and left three children, the others being
Eliza, now the deceased wife of John Hed-
dinger, of Ovid township; and Mrs. Sarah
Walters, of Pennsylvania.
John M. Kosht had but limited educational
privileges but to some extent attended school in
his youth and throughout the remainder of the
year worked upon the home farm. Later he
was employed as a farm hand in the neighbor-
hood, working by the month for seven dollars
and a half per month. He later learned the
cooper's trade, which he followed after his
removal to Michigan in 1854. Subsequent to
his arrival in this state he first lived with his
brother-in-law, and in 1856 he took up his
abode on his present farm on section 21, Ovid
township, where he at first purchased fifteen
acres. This land he cleared and later he added
to it forty acres. His original log cabin was
erected in 1856 and continued to be his place of
abode until 1887, when he built a new house.
He also built good barns in 1879 and 1900 and
now has a well improved property, on which
the work of improvement has been steadily car-
ried on.
In 1854 Mr. Kosht was united in marriage
to Miss Sophia Heddinger, a daughter of
Phillip Heddinger, of Ovid township. Eleven
children have been born of this union : Viola,
the widow of E. L. Kindreck; Adelaide, the
wife of Henry Gardner, of Saranac county,
Michigan; Aaron, a resident farmer of Ovid
township; Emma, the wife of Emerson Yerick,
who is also living in Ovid township; Estella,
the wife of William Van Orsdale, of the same
township; Milton, upon the home farm; Clara,
the wife of Oliver Fish, of Greenbush town-
ship; Delia, the wife of Willis Dennis, of
Seneca Falls, New York; Martha, the wife of
Israel Taft, of Ovid township; Omry and
Lewis E., both at home.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
215
Mr. Kosht is a democrat where national
issues are involved but at local elections be-
lieves in voting for the best candidate regard-
less of party affiliation. He has been a promi-
nent member of the United Brethren church for
the past thirty years and has served as trustee
since 1879. His wife is also a member of the
same church. He possesses many excellent
traits, is a man of high moral character, known
throughout the community as a kind neigh-
bor, a good citizen and a trustworthy business
man.
WILLIAM E. HAMILTON.
William E. Hamilton, one of the prominent
members of the Grand Army of the Republic in
Michigan, with an acquaintance that extends
throughout the state, and now conducting a
general insurance business in St. Johns, is a
native of Grand Blanc, Michigan, born Septem-
ber 14, 1844. His parents were Thomas J. and
Eliza T. (Pettis) Hamilton, the former a na-
tive of Massachusetts and the latter of Con-
necticut. Little is known concerning the an-
cestral history of the father's family. Thomas
Hamilton, losing his mother when only three
years of age, went to live with an aunt in
Ogdensburg, New York, when seven years of
age, and he spent a part of his early life in
Pembroke,- New York, where he was engaged
in the milling business. He was married in
February, 1837, to Eliza T. Pettis, who be-
longed to an old Massachusetts family and was
a descendant of Thomas Hyde, one of the Pil-
grims of 1620. After his marriage Mr. Hamil-
ton removed to Grand Blanc, Michigan, where
he resided until he became a resident of Iowa
in 1869. His death occurred in the latter state
when he was fifty-nine years of age, and his
wife died in St. Johns at the age of sixty-five
years. They were the parents of five children :
George I., of Iowa; Ansel, of Grand Blanc, who
died in the army; Charles P., of Maple Rapids;
William E., of this review, who is the only one
now living, and Eliott A., who was a professor
in an Iowa college at the time of his death.
14
William E. Hamilton pursued his education
in the public schools of his native city and in
Flint, Michigan. Responding to his country's
call in 1862, he became a member of Company
G, Eighth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, being
mustered in on the 14th of August of that year
and mustered out on the 1st of June, 1865. He
joined the army as a private and was afterward
made corporal. He participated in the engage-
ments of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg,
the siege of Knoxville, the battle of the Wilder-
ness, Spottsylvania and many others and in the
latter part of the war continued in the siege of
Petersburg until the close of hostilities. He was
wounded in the right knee at the battle of the
Wilderness and was knocked down and hit in
the right hip at Cold Harbor. Since the or-
ganization of the Grand Army of the Republic
Mr. Hamilton has been very prominent in its
circles and was assistant adjutant of Michigan
in 1895. He held membership in C. E. Grisson
Post, No. 156, until 1900, when he became
commander of R. G. Hutchinson Post at Fow-
ler, which position he still fills. He had been
commander of Grisson Post in 1887 and he or-
ganized from that post a company of Zouaves
which were uniform and won all of the prizes
given at the reunions up to 1895. Mr. Hamil-
ton has done effective service in behalf of his
old army comrades and has a deep interest in
their welfare.
Following his return from the war, Mr.
Hamilton began work at the trade of a carpen-
ter and builder, which he followed until 1867,
after which he spent six years at farming in
Dallas county, Iowa. In the fall of 1873, how-
ever, he returned to Michigan, settling in Liv-
ingston county, where he spent two years. He
was afterward in Maple Rapids, where he con-
ducted the Union House for two years, and in
1882 he came to St. Johns, where he was en-
gaged in building operations for fifteen years.
Since 1897 his attention has been given to the
general insurance business, in which he still con-
tinues with a gratifying patronage.
On the 4th of July, 1866, Mr. Hamilton was
married to Miss Juliette Townsend, of Grand
Blanc, Michigan, who died January 1, 1879.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
On the 5th of March, 1882, he married Amanda
Baker, of St. Johns, who died April 1, 1900,
and his present wife was formerly Cora A.
Rogers, of Muskegon, Michigan, the date of
their marriage being July 17, 1901.
Mr. Hamilton is a stalwart republican and
has served as village trustee for two years. He
belongs to the Ancient Order of United Work-
men. He is a man of fine military bearing
and stands as a splendid type of that great army
which preserved the Union in the hour of our
country's peril.
F. M. PIGGOTT.
F. M. Piggott, whose home is on section 25,
Lebanon township, is classed with the substan-
tial farmers and stock raisers, breeders and deal-
ers of Clinton county. He has become well
known as a dealer in Shorthorn cattle, Poland
China hogs and Merino sheep, while his farm
embraces four hundred and twenty-five acres
and in its neat appearance indicates his careful
supervision. It was upon this farm that Mr.
Piggott was born July 10, 1864. His father,
Charles Piggott, was a native of England, born
in the city of London in 1829, and in the
vicinity of the metropolis his youth was passed
on a farm, where he took up his abode when a
lad of six summers. He came to the new world
in 1849, when a young man of twenty years and
spent a few years on a farm near Rochester,
New York. In that locality he was married
and in 1852 he came to Michigan, settling in
Lebanon township, Clinton county, purchasing
sixty acres of land that constituted the nucleus
of the farm upon which our subject now re-
sides. The father met the usual experiences of
pioneer life, for his land was a timbered tract
which it was necessary for him to clear be-
fore he could cultivate the fields. He built a log
house and then began the active work of pre-
paring the land for the plow. As his financial
resources increased he added to his property
from time to time until he owned three hundred
acres, constituting a valuable farm. He built
a good house, also erected several small build-
ings and a barn, planted an orchard and made
other modern improvements. It was after his
removal to Michigan that Mr. Piggott was
married a second time in Calhoun county, the
lady of his choice being Bridget Kearney, who
became the mother of F. M. Piggott of this re-
view. The father continued to reside upon the
old homestead here until his death, which oc-
curred December 27, 1888, and his widow yet
resides upon the farm.
F. M. Piggott is the younger of two sons,
his brother Leonard being a substantial farmer
of Lebanon township. The youth of F. M.
Piggott was passed upon the farm and he was
educated in the common schools and in the
high school of Maple Rapids. He continued
with his father on the old home place and after
putting aside his text-books took charge of the
farm. He has since remodeled and rebuilt the
house, has also built a large barn and has added
modern equipments, including the latest im-
proved machinery. He owns one hundred and
forty acres of the old homestead, to which he
has added until he now has four hundred and
twenty-five acres in one body. Here he has a
good gasoline engine and well pump. He en-
gages in raising Shorthorn cattle and owns a
fine registered herd. He has likewise engaged
in breeding and raising Poland China hogs for
seventeen years and in this connection has be-
come well known, making shipments all over
the lower peninsula of Michigan. He likewise
has Merino sheep and good grades of horses on
his place and lie is thoroughly familiar with the
best points of good stock and is seldom, if ever,
at fault in his judgment concerning the value
of farm animals. This department of his busi-
ness has proved very profitable and is a source
of excellent income to Mr. Piggott.
On the 9th of November, 1886, in Ionia
county, Michigan, Mr. Piggott was united in
marriage to Miss Sarah Lawless, a native of
Portland township, Ionia county. She was
reared and educated in Chatham and is a
daughter of Nicholas Lawless, who removed
from New York to Ionia county. Seven chil-
dren graced this marriage : Margaret, a gradu-
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MR. AND MRS. F. M. PIGGOTT.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
219
ate of the county normal school and now a suc-
cessful teacher; Agnes, a Student in St. Johns;
Clarence J.; William J.; Elvira; Leonard; and
F. Marion.
The parents are members of the Catholic
church, having been reared in that faith, to
which they have since belonged. Mr. Piggott
is connected with the Knights of the Maccabees
and with the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Com-
pany of Clinton and Gratiot counties, of which
he has served as agent and collector for seven-
teen years. He is also a member of Essex
Grange and the Lebanon Farmers' Club, of
which he has been president several terms and
also a delegate to Lansing. He has always voted
with the democracy and was elected and served
for two terms as township treasurer, has also
been school inspector and supervisor and for
one year served as a member of the honorary
county board, during which time he was on the
equalization committee. He has been a delegate
to the state and county conventions and also a
member of the town and county committees of
the democracy. He favors progress along intel-
lectual, political, material and moral lines and
has done his full share in promoting public
progress as well as in advancing his individual
prosperity. His business affairs have been
honorably and capably conducted and he is one
of the valued native sons of the county, having
spent his entire life on the farm which is yet
his home.
HENRY PALMER, M. D.
Dr. Henry Palmer, engaged in the practice
of medicine with diseases of the eye as a
specialty, is a native of Lockport, Niagara
county, New York, born February 22, 1857.
His father, George Palmer, was a native of
Cambridgeshire, England, in which country
his parents were farming people. He, too, be-
came a farmer in his native land, where he re-
sided until 1855, when he sought a home in
the new world, settling in Lockport, New York,
where he carried on agricultural pursuits for
nine years. He came to Michigan in 1864
and purchased eighty acres of land near St.
Johns. Soon afterward he brought his family
to the new home which he had prepared in
Greenbush township and throughout his re-
maining days he carried on agricultural pur-
suits here. He passed away in 1875, respected
by all who knew him. His wife, Mrs. Sarah
(Johnson) Palmer, was also a native of Eng-
land and survived him until 1882, when she,
too, passed away on the old homestead. They
were the parents of four children.
Dr. Palmer, the youngest of the family, was
reared in Lockport, whence he came to Clinton
county in 1864 and here he remained until he
reached the age of sixteen years. He then be-
gan work by the month as a farm hand and
the following year he became a student in the
high school at St. Johns, paying his tuition for
he was not a resident of the town. Ambitious
to acquire an education that would well qualify
him for life's practical and responsible duties, in
1876 he entered the Agricultural College at
Lansing and pursued a course of study there
preparatory to entering upon the study of medi-
cine. He completed five years' work in three
years time and met the expenses of his college
work by teaching. He afterward spent two
years in the west as a civil engineer, being em-
ployed for one year in Utah on the Denver &
Rio Grande Railroad, after which he went to
Oregon and for a year was a civil engineer in
the service of the Oregon Short Line Railroad.
Returning to St. Johns in the spring of 1883,
he soon afterward entered the University of
Michigan as a student in the department of
pharmacy and won his degree upon his gradu-
ation in the class of 1885. He next entered
the junior class in the medical department, from
which he was graduated in the spring of 1887
with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
He then located permanently in St. Johns,
where he has worked his way steadily upward
and now has a practice covering several coun-
ties. His general practice in medicine and sur-
gery has been very large and he has also made
a specialty of the treatment of diseases of the
eye, in which he is very successful.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
In 1887 Dr. Palmer was married to Miss
Lucy Perrin, a daughter of the late H. M. Per-
rin. She was educated in this city, completing
a high-school course and is a lady of natural
culture and refinement. Dr. and Mrs. Palmer
have but one daughter, Ruth E. Dr. Palmer is
an active and enthusiastic republican and is a
member of several civic societies. He likewise
belongs to the State Pharmaceutical Association
and is a prominent member of the State Medical
Society, while in the County Medical Society
he has served as secretary. His membership
in these organizations keeps him in touch with
the advanced thought of the profession and the
onward march of the medical fraternity and he
is ever an interested student of all that tends to
bring to man the key to the complex mystery
which we call life. By investigation and read-
ing he has continually promoted his knowledge
and efficiency and his careful diagnosis of a
case enables him to determine with accuracy the
outcome of disease.
MILLARD P. SLEIGHT.
Millard P. Sleight, actively engaged in farm-
ing upon a tract of land of one hundred and
sixty acres on sections 5 and 6, Bath township,
was born upon this farm, which is therefore
endeared to him through the associations of his
youth as well as those of later manhood, his
natal day being November 3, 1871. His father,
Job Sleight, was a native of New York, his
birth having occurred in Dutchess county in
1847. His father, Peter Sleight, was also a na-
tive of Dutchess county and in the year 1861
came to the west, settling in Clinton county,
Michigan, where he purchased land. Job Sleight
arrived in this county when a youth of fourteen
years and was herd reared to manhood. After at-
taining his majority he sought a companion
and helpmate on life's journey, wedding Miss
Frances Morgan, whose birth occurred in
Washtenaw county, Michigan. Previous to his
marriage Mr. Sleight had purchased two hun-
dred and forty acres of land which he began
to clear and improve and to this farm he took
his bride and with the further impetus of hav-
ing a wife for whom to provide he applied him-
self diligently to the work of clearing and culti-
vating his fields. His original pioneer home
was afterward replaced by an attractive brick
residence, in the rear of which he built good
barns and outbuildings. Here he continued to
carry on general agricultural pursuits until
1891, when. he sold eighty acres of the land to
his son Millard and eighty acres to his daugh-
ter, Mrs. George Hart. He then removed to
Alma, Gratiot county, where he bought a farm,
comprising one hundred and fifty acres of very
valuable and well improved land, and he is now
one of the prominent and substantial agri-
culturists of that portion of the state.
Millard P. Sleight was reared to manhood in
Bath township on the old home farm and in
his boyhood days trudged morning and evening
to the district schools, mastering therein the
common branches of learning. In the periods
of vacation he worked in the fields, aiding his
father in clearing and cultivating the land.
On the 29th of June, 1895, Millard P.
Sleight was married to Miss Edith Wildt, who
was a native of this county and a daughter of
Charles Wildt, of Dewitt, who died in the
village in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Sleight began
their domestic life upon the old homestead farm,
Mr. Sleight operating his own tract of eighty
acres also the eighty acres belonging to his sis-
ter and the eighty acres belonging to his father,
his attention therefore being claimed by the im-
provement of a farm of two hundred and forty
acres. He is industrious, energetically taking
up each duty that comes to him and keeping his
place in first class condition. The home has
been blessed with three children but they lost
their first born, Ford, when he was thirteen
months old. The others are Beatrice and Ralph.
Politically Mr. Sleight is a stanch repub-
lican, never wavering in his support of the
party yet never active as an office seeker. He
was elected, however, and is now serving as
township treasurer. His entire life has been
passed on this one farm and for thirty-four
years he has been a witness of the development
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
221
of Clinton county, where he is known as a man
of business integrity and worth, having the con-
fidence and esteem of the entire community.
L. B. DOWNIE.
L. B. Downie, for twenty-five years engaged
in the hardware business in Elsie, has the quali-
fications so necessary to commercial success-
ready adaptability, close application and un-
flagging enterprise. Moreover he finds time to
faithfully perform the duties of citizenship and
has done much to further interests which have
for their motive the upbuilding and development
of the city.
Mr. Downie is a native of Cuyahoga county,
Ohio, born January 31, 1847. His father>
David L. Downie, was a native of New York,
born in 18 1 4, and became a fanner in that state,
but later removed to Cuyahoga county, Ohio,
while subsequently he owned and operated a
farm in Lorain county, Ohio. On coming to
Michigan he settled on a farm in Duplain town-
ship, Clinton county, where he spent his last
years, passing away about 1875. His wife sur-
vived him for some time, reaching the age of
seventy-one years.
On the home farm in Lorain county, Ohio,
L. B. Downie was reared, remaining with his
father until sixteen years of age, when he
started out in life on his own account. In the
fall of 1864 he came to Clinton county, Michi-
gan, and was afterward employed in a lumber
camp in the pine woods, at any work that came
to hand. Subsequently he engaged in the meat
business at Elsie, conducting a market for about
a year and a half. At a later date he returned
to Ohio and became connected with commercial
pursuits in Lorain county, where he opened up
a line of dry goods and general merchandise.
He also served as postmaster for three and a
half years under Rutherford B. Hayes, while
his identification with commercial pursuits
covered four and a half years. He then sold
out and removed to St. Johns, where he was
engaged in the grocery business for seven
months, and in 1881 he returned to Elsie, where
he began dealing in hardware and implements
on a small scale. However, he has increased
his stock from year to year, as the trade has
demanded and he now has a large stock of shelf
and heavy hardware and implements, his busi-
ness having become quite extensive. It is care-
fully managed with due regard to the service
he can render his patrons and also to the profits
which are justly his. He has purchased good
business property, and his store and realty in-
terests in Elsie are the visible evidence of his
life of well directed and successful activity.
Mr. Downie was married in Elsie, in Novem-
ber, .1864, to Miss Almena P. Fowler, who was
born and reared in Delaware county, Ohio, a
daughter of Jacob Fowler, who was a native
of New York, born on the Susquehanna river.
He was reared in Delaware county, Ohio, and
was married there to Miss Emily Ryle, a na-
tive of Lorain county, that state. Mr. and Mrs.
Downie have become the parents of four chil-
dren: Nellie M., who is the wife of Uriah
Ferguson, of Elsie, and has one son; Anna L.,
who died in 1876; Ray L., who assists his
father in the store and is the owner of a good
residence here; and Marium E., at home.
In the community affairs Mr. Downie figures
quite prominently, taking an active interest in
material, social and political progress and with-
holding his support from no practical movement
along those lines. He has always been a stanch
champion of republican principles and although
never an active politician in the sense of office-
seeking, he has nevertheless been called to public
office by his fellow townsmen, serving in the
village council for six years and as treasurer of
the village for one term. His wife belongs to
the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has
membership relations with the Odd Fellows,
having been initiated into the fraternity in Ohio,
while his membership is now with Elsie lodge.
He filled all the chairs in Ohio and is a past
grand, and his wife is identified with the Re-
bekah lodge. Mr. Downie also affiliates with
the Maccabees. He is thoroughly identified
with the interests of Elsie and her people and
is recognized throughout the community as a
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
man of good business ability, of exemplary
habits and of sterling character and worth. He
is much esteemed in the community and well
merits the high position in public regard which
is uniformly tendered him.
VARNEY PEARCE.
Varney Pearce, living in Dewitt, is a well
known resident of the county, who is now re-
tired in the enjoyment of the fruits of long
labor in former years. He is likewise num-
bered among the pioneer settlers of Clinton
county, dating his residence here from 1864.
A native of Ohio, he was born in Huron county
on the 10th of February, 1832, his father being
Varney Pearce, Sr., who was a native of Mas-
sachusetts, in which state he was reared to man-
hood. He was also married there and after-
ward removed to the west, casting in his lot
writh the pioneer settlers of Ohio. His second
wife, whom he wedded in the Buckeye state,
bore the maiden name of Mary Roscoe. His
wife survived him and reared her family of
children and was also a second time married.
Varney Pearce of this review spent the days
of his boyhood and youth upon the home farm
in Huron county, Ohio, where he acquired his
primary education. His knowledge, however,
has been largely self -acquired through ex-
perience, observation and reading and to-day he
is a well informed man. From early youth he
has been dependent upon his own efforts and
has ever manifested a self-reliant, earnest and
indefatigable spirit which has enabled him to
overcome difficulties and obstacles and work his
way steadily upward to success. He was em-
ployed as a farm hand by the month for six-
teen years and after the death of his stepfather
he resided with his mother and carried on the
old home farm. In 1864 he came west, settling
in Michigan. He found friends in this county,
which he had previously visited in 1854 and to
which he had returned in 1858, at that time
purchasing the farm upon which he took up his
abode in 1864. He first located in Dewitt town-
ship, where he carried on agricultural pursuits
for a year, after which he sold out and en-
'■•g^g*8^irf' the manufacture of lumber. He
bought- an interest in a saw mill and was con-
nected with its operation for five years. During
that period he also invested in land in Olive
township and in Watertown and, locating on
the former tract of land, he there cultivated
and improved his property, comprising two
hundred and twenty acres. He erected a large,
neat brick residence, a commodious barn, a gran-
ary and other outbuildings and his place be-
came very valuable because of its modern
equipments and the able manner in which he
carried on the work. He did both farming and
stock raising and was thus engaged until 1904,
when he erected a neat residence in Dewitt and
took up his abode in the town, where he is now
living retired.
Mr. Pearce was united in marriage in St.
Johns, April 18, 1872, to Miss Charity L. Van
Dyke, a native of Clinton county, Michigan,
born in the town of Riley, June 28, 1848.
Her father, William Van Dyke, came from
New York to Michigan at a very early period
in the improvement of Clinton county. In his
family were nine children, of whom seven
reached manhood and womanhod, and those still
living are Mrs. M. J. Smith, Mrs. William H.
H. Knapp, George H. Van Dyke, Mrs. Sarah
Oberry and Mrs. Charity L. Pearce. Two of
the sons were in the Union army during the
Civil war, James M. being a member of Com-
pany L, First United States Cavalry. He was
killed while .on his horse, September 19, 1864,
the morning Sheridan made his famous twenty-
mile ride. Another son, William L., was first
a member of the Third Michigan Cavalry and
later the Tenth Michigan Cavalry, remaining
in the service until the close of the war. He is
now deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Pearce are the parents of three
children. Alta is now the wife of Fenton
Brink, of Watertown, and they have one child,
Josephine, who is two and a half years of age.
Josephine, the second daughter of our subject,
is the wife of Fred Tucker, who now owns
and operates the old Tucker homestead of one
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VARNEY PEARCE.
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MRS. VARNEY PEARCE.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
227
hundred and forty acres in Dewitt township.
Varney D. Pearce, the only son, is an active
and successful agriculturist living on the old
home farm. He married Gertrude Eaton, of
this county.
Prior to her marriage Mrs. Pearce success-
fully engaged in teaching school for four years
and at times walked two miles to school and
then had to build her own fire. She is one of
the most prominent and influential women in
her community, having served as lecturer of
Dewitt Grange, No. 459> for nine years and of
Pomona Grange, No. 25, for eleven. She is
filling the latter position at the present time
and is also secretary of the Clinton County
Pioneer Society in her sixth year and is repre-
senting this county in the State Pioneer Asso-
ciation as vice president. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Pearce have taken all of the seven degrees in
the Grange and are members of the Universalist
church, in which faith they were reared.
Politically Mr. Pearce was a democrat for
a number of years but is now independent, vot-
ing without regard to party ties. He has been
a resident of Clinton county for forty-one years,
during which time he has witnessed the greater
part of its growth, aiding himself in felling
forests, in subduing the virgin soil and in pro-
ducing the present advanced state of progressive
agriculture. He endured the hardships and
privations of frontier life without a murmur in
order that he might found a home here and now
in the eventide of life he is enabled to enjoy
the comforts, conveniences and many of the
luxuries that go to make life worth the living.
SAMUEL BOND.
Samuel Bond, who is following farming in
a practical, progressive and profitable manner
on section 25, Greenbush township, where a
productive tract of land of two hundred and
twenty acres annuaHy returns him a gratifying
income, was born in Somersetshire, England,
on the 25th of November, 1853. He spent the
first twenty years of his life in that country
and then in company with his brother, Charles
Bond, sought a home in the new world, believ-
ing that better business opportunities might be
enjoyed on this side of the water. They made
their way direct to Clinton county, Michigan,
settling in Duplain township. Samuel Bond
worked by the month in Clinton and Oakland
counties, and carefully husbanding his financial
resources he was at length enabled to begin
farming on his own account. Previous to this
time, however, he went to New York and in
Onondaga county followed farming for about
three years.
It was during that period on the 8th of De-
cember, 1 88 1, that Mr. Bond was united in
marriage to Miss Ellen C. Oliver, a native of
Onondaga county, where she was reared and
spent her girlhood days. Her father, John
Oliver, was a native of England, in which coun-
try he was reared and married, and on crossing
the Atlantic to the new world he settled in
Onondaga county, New York. Following his
marriage Samuel Bond and his brother Charles
purchased eighty acres of land in Duplain town-
ship, whereon they lived, our subject there de-
voting his energies to farming for two years, at
the end of which time the property was divided,
each taking forty acres. Samuel Bond con-
tinued to cultivate and improve his land there
for a few years, after which he sold out and
bought a place in Bingham township, constitut-
ing a part of the old Avery homestead. To its
further cultivation and development he gave his
attention for six years and in 1892 traded that
property for his present farm. He at first had
one hundred and eighty acres here but he has
since added forty acres so that he has now a
good property of two hundred and twenty acres.
He has remodeled the buildings, has set out
fruit and has continued the work of the fields
until his farm is now a very productive one.
Mr. and Mrs. Bond have six children, John
Henry, Frank, Clara, Frederick, Dean and
Hugh, all of whom are at home. They also lost
a son, Clarence, twin brother of Clara, who died
at the age of eight weeks. The parents are
members of the Christian church at Duplain,
and politically Mr. Bond is an earnest repub-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
lican, never faltering in his allegiance to the
party. He came to this country empty-handed
but by untiring effort and well directed labor
has accumulated a handsome competence and
his brother, Charles Bond, is likewise a pros-
perous farmer of Duplain township. These
brothers are indeed self-made men, who, from
a humble financial position have worked their
way steadily upward to the plane of affluence,
each having a large and valuable farm which
has been acquired through honorable means.
They have become respected citizens of the
county of their adoption and are well worthy
of representation in this volume.
FRANK M. SPAULDING.
Frank M. Spaulding, conducting a successful
hardware and plumbing business in St. Johns,
was born in this city, November 4, 1861, his
parents being Hon. O. L. and Minerva (Mead)
Spaulding, the former a native of Jaffrey, New
Hampshire, and the latter of Lockport, New
York. The father was one of the honored and
distinguished citizens of this state, his life hav-
ing been one of extraordinary activity and use-
fulness. He was born in 1833. and at the age
of twenty-five years became a member of the
bar, since which time he has practiced his pro-
fession, his ability placing him in the front
ranks among the leading representatives of the
legal fraternity in this state. His scholarly at-
tainments and public-spirited devotion to the
general good have likewise qualified him for
leadership in other lines of activity and his
career has been an honor to the state which has
honored him. He has held the office of regent
of the University of Michigan, was secretary
of state for two terms, represented his district
in the forty-seventh congress and was assistant
secretary of the treasury under President Ben-
jamin Harrison. Three times he was appointed
special agent of the United States treasury and
was appointed chairman of the commission to
the Hawaiian Islands in 1883. He has also
held nearly all of the offices in the gift of a
local constituency and in his early manhood he
gave proof of his loyalty to his country by his
active service in the Union army. He went to the
front as captain of Company A, Twenty-third
Michigan Volunteers and was promoted from
grade to grade until he retired as brigadier
general. He has since 1857 regarded St. Johns
as his home, although state and national service
has at times caused his residence elsewhere.
Faultless in honor, stainless in reputation and
fearless in conduct— such has been his life
record. His scholarly attainments, his states-
menship, his reliable judgment and his charm-
ing powers of conversation would have enabled
him to ably fill and grace any position, however
exalted, and he is no less honored in public than
loved in private life.
Frank M. Spaulding was the only child born
to his parents, but he has three half-brothers
and a half-sister. His early education was ac-
quired in the public schools of St. Johns, where
he continued until he had become a high-school
student. He entered business life as an employe
of Governor David Jerome at Saginaw, Michi-
gan, acting as salesman in his hardware store,
where he continued for six years. Later he be-
gan business on his own account in that city,
becoming a member of the hardware firm of
Spaulding & Stark, the junior member being
Charles Stark, who soon afterward bought out
Mr. Spaulding's interest, and he then came to
St. Johns. Here he was chosen secretary and
treasurer of the Whipple Harrow Company and
in 1889 he purchased an interest in the hard-
ware business, then conducted under the name
of Nixon & Company. A year later he bought
Mr. Nixon's interest and the firm of Spaulding
& Company has since had a continuous exist-
ence and has greatly increased the business,
which has probably reached three times the
original dimensions. In connection with the
hardware trade they have a complete shop for
plumbing, tinning and other work of that char-
acter, and Mr. Spaulding, a man of resourceful
business ability and keen discrimination, is also
connected with the Clinton Butter Company,
which was established three years ago and of
which he has served as treasurer from the be-
ginning.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
229
On the 4th of September, 1889, Mr. Spauld-
ing was married to Eva Hogan, a daughter of
George Hogan, of Saginaw, Michigan, and
their living children are George Oliver and
Mary Marguerite. They also lost a daughter,
Alta M., who died in 1902. Mr. Spaulding is
fraternally connected with the Masons, Knights
of Pythias, Modern Woodmen and the Royal
Arcanum. He is one of the progressive men of
St. Johns. In politics a republican, he has never
been bitterly partisan, but has been called to
some local offices, serving as superintendent of
the poor since 1896. He was also president of
the village for one year, a member of the board
of trustees for two years, and for a number
of years served on the board of the electric and
Clinton Gal 63
water company. He has stood as the champion
of all measures for the public progress and local
advancement and yet with little political aspir-
ation for himself. He has preferred to con-
centrate his energies upon his business affairs
and is to-day numbered with the leading mer-
chants of the city.
ALFRED R. SMITH.
Alfred R. Smith, living on section 7, Bath
township, dates his residence in Michigan from
1866, and since 1868 has lived in Clinton
county, where he now owns and conducts a
farm of eighty acres. He was born in Mon-
roe county, New York, March 28, 1842, and
spent his youth in that locality, acquiring his
education in its public schools. In December,
1 86 1, when a young man of nineteen years, he
offered his aid to his country then involved in
the Civil war and was enrolled with the volun-
teers of Company G, Seventy-eighth New York
Infantry. His regiment was attached to the
Army of the Potomac until 1863, under com-
mand of General Pope, and in the year men-
tioned was transferred to the Western Army,
with which Mr. Smith served until the close
of the war. The first engagement in which he
participated was at Cedar Mountain in 1862,
and later he was in the second battle of Bull
Run. Becoming ill, he was in the hospital for
a time and later he participated in the engage-
ments of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and
Kenesaw Mountain. Being wounded by a gun^
shot in the left breast he was disabled for three
months and later served on detached duty, act-
ing as a nurse in the hospital for three months.
Subsequently he joined Sherman's army at
Goldsboro, North Carolina, and was mustered
out at Bladensburg, Maryland. While at Hart's
Island, New York, he was honorably discharged
and in July, 1865, returned to his home. It
will be seen from the account of the battles in
which he participated that he traveled many
miles from the south and was in a number of
the most hotly contested engagements.
When the war was over Mr. Smith went to
the oil regions of Pennsylvania, where he re-
mained for a few months, and in 1866 he came
westward to Michigan, where for two years
he was employed in the pine woods. In 1868
he. located in Clinton county, taking up his
abode in Dewitt township, where he purchased
a tract of land that was wild and unimproved.
Here he developed a farm in due course of time.
Eventually he sold the property and removed to
Lansing, where he conducted the Smith Hotel,
a temperance house, for one year. On the ex-
piration of that period he bought a farm in
Dewitt township, whereon he lived for eight
years and on selling that property went to Colo-
rado but soon returned to this state and pur-
chased the place upon which he now resides.
He has cleared it, making substantial improve-
ments thereon, and now has eighty acres of
good land, which is productive and valuable and
is the visible evidence of his life of thrift and
enterprise.
On the 30th of June, '1869, Mr. Smith was
married to Miss Julia McGonigal, who was born
in Shiawassee county, Michigan, and is a daugh-
ter of Dennis McGonigal, one of the early set-
tlers of that part of the state. There are five
children of this marriage: Alfred E., living in
New York state; Frank G., of Ohio; Ella M.;
Nettie, the wife of Professor William E. Lay-
cock, principal of the schools of Bath; and
Glen O.
For almost thirty-seven years Mr. Smith
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
has been a resident of Clinton county, who is
recognized as one of the honest yeomen of Bath
township. In his political views he is a stanch
republican but has never sought or desired office.
He fought for the preservation of the Union
in the Civil war and yet carries the scars of bat-
tle received in defense of the old flag. The
ranks of the old soldiers are fast being dis-
seminated but Mr. Smith with others remains
to tell the story of the campaigns of the south
and the movements of the armies which es-
tablished the perpetuity of the Union.
WILLIAM GILLISON.
William Gillison is a representative of one
of the pioneer families of Clinton county and
was born on the old family homestead in Bing-
ham township, December 18, 1873, his par-
ents being George and Ann (Hufton) Gillison.
The father was born in Lincolnshire, England,
December 23, 1845, his parents being Thomas
and Lucy (Lindley) Gillison, both of whom
were natives of England, who came to the
United States in 1856, settling in Clarence
township, Erie county, New York, where they
lived until 1863. That year witnessed their
arrival in Clinton county, where Thomas Gil-
lison purchased the old Richardson farm in
Bingham township, whereon he and his wife
both spent their remaining days,
George Gillison, who began his education
in England, continued his studies in the
schools of New York and after coming to this
township with his parents he remained under
the parental roof until twenty-five years of age,
when he removed to Chapin township, Lapeer
county, working on the Chapin estate for three
years. On the expiration of that period he re-
turned to this county in 1873 and settled on
forty acres of land in Bingham township, which
he had previously purchased. He continued
there for ten years, when he sold and bought
seventy-four acres of the Richardson farm, on
which he has since made his home. All of the
improvements upon the property are evidences
of his handiwork, thrift and progressive spirit,
for he has reclaimed the farm from a marshy
swamp and transformed it to its present pros-
perous condition. In May, 1870, he was
united in marriage to Miss Ann Hufton, a
daughter of George Hufton, of Bingham town-
ship, and they became the parents of two chil-
dren, William and Mamie, the latter living
with Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Hicks, of Bingham
township. Mrs. Gillison departed this life in
January, 1879, and f°r his second wife Mr.
Gillison chose Lizzie Blank, a daughter of John
Blank, of Ovid township. Of the six children
of this marriage the four youngest are still
living: Edward, Benjamin, Albert and Ar-
thur, all upon the home farm with their father.
William Gillison was educated in the dis-
trict schools until thirteen years of age. He
was reared by his grandparents until their
deaths broke up the home, when he returned to
the home of his father, who in the meantime
had married again and with whom he remained
until twenty-one years of age. He then pur-
sued a commercial course in Cleary Business
College at Ypsilanti, from which he was grad-
uated in December, 1895. He then spent one
year in Detroit, after which he returned to
Clinton county and took up his abode again
upon his grandfather's farm, which had been
his home for so many years. Here he yet re-
sides and takes pride in improving the prop-
erty and the home of his boyhood, where are
still seen sonie of the early landmarks, includ-
ing a part of the old orchard which was set
out before his grandfather bought the farm.
Some of the buildings, too, are still standing
that were erected in 1870. The grandfather
died January 10, 1887, and his widow passed
away November 17, 1889, at which time
George Gillison was appointed administrator
of the estate. William Gillison in his operation
of the farm shows thorough and intimate
knowledge with the best methods of agricul-
ture and in his work is at all times practical
and energetic.
On the 1st of January, 1896, occurred the
marriage of William Gillison and Miss Maryett
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MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM GILLISON.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
233
Colby, a daughter of Henry Colby, of Ypsi-
lanti! Her parents were among the early set-
tlers'in the vicinity of Ypsilanti, where they
are still living upon a farm. ^ They had previ-
ously resided in Kansas, where Mrs. Gillison
was born. She has but one sister living in this
county, Mrs. Floyd Tabor, who resides in
Bingham township. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gilli-
son have been born four children, of whom
Leonard, Lawrence and Leslie are all living,
while Lester died May 26, 1903.
In his political views Mr. Gillison is an
earnest and unfaltering republican and in 1904
was elected township clerk, to which office he
was re-elected in 1905, so that he is the present
incumbent. He is likewise a member of St.
John's camp, No. 2387, M. W. A., in which he
holds the office of watchman. A young and
enterprising farmer, he is well known in the
county in which the greater part of his life
has been passed and during almost the entire
time he has resided upon one farm.
DILAZON L. STICHLER.
Dilazon L. Stichler, an agriculturist of Vic-
tor township, his home being on section 17, is
one of the old settlers of Michigan, few of its
residents having longer remained within its
borders, for Mr. Stichler took up his abode in
Michigan in 1844. He has lived in Clinton
county since 1868 and is one of the worthy
citizens that Ohio has furnished to the state.
His birth occurred in Buffalo, New York, Sep-
tember 3, 1835. His father, George Stichler,
was a native of Pennsylvania, where he spent
the days of his boyhood and youth, and when a
young man went to Ohio, where he was mar-
ried to Miss Lucy Waldo, a native of Vermont,
in which state she was reared. Mr. Stichler
was a carpenter and joiner by trade and fol-
lowed that pursuit in early manhood. The year
1844 witnessed his arrival in Michigan, at
which time he established his home in Flint,
where he was connected with building pursuits.
He did work, however, in a number of counties
and in 1853 removed to Shiawassee county,
where he located on a farm.
Dilazon L. Stichler was reared to manhood
in this state with fair common-school ad-
vantages in his youth. He learned the carpen-
ter's and joiner's trade under the direction of
his father and later followed contracting and
building in Shiawassee county for a number of
years. Subsequently with his earnings he in-
vested in forty acres of land in that county and
devoted his energies to farming for a few years.
He was united in marriage in Woodhull, Janu-
ary i, 1857, to Miss Mary Everts, who was a
native of Tompkins county, New York. She
came to Michigan in her childhood days and
was reared in Shiawassee county.
Following his marriage Mr. Stichler worked
at his trade for a number of years and in
Lansing he assisted in the construction of the
old capitol and also in the building of the Agri-
cultural College. He likewise worked at his
trade in Owosso and other towns and subse-
quently he bought land and located on a farm
in Shiawassee county. At a later date he in-
vested in a farm in Washtenaw county, where
he carried on general agricultural pursuits for
four years, and in 1868 he removed to Clinton
county, purchasing eighty acres of land, where
he now resides. He then located in the woods
and cleared off the timber, fenced his land and
opened up a farm. He first built a log house
which remained his home for a few years, after
which he erected a good neat two-story resi-
dence, also two good barns and other substantial
outbuildings. He planted an orchard and set
out much small fruit and has an attractive and
productive farm, the value of which has greatly
appreciated because of the care and labor which
he has bestowed upon it. He has likewise in-
vested in more land and owns two eighty-acre
tracts and two forty-acre tracts, all valuable
farming property. In connection with the till-
ing of the soil he has been engaged in breed-
ing and dealing in high grade shorthorn cattle
and this branch of his business has proved quite
profitable.
Mr. and Mrs. Stichler have become the par-
ents of eleven children, of whom five are yet
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
living as follows : Wallace, a farmer of Clinton
county; Nettie, the wife of Fred Dickinson, of
Grand Ledge; Grant, who owns and operates
a farm adjoining his father's place; D. L., Jr.,
who is also a farmer of Clinton county; and R.
D., who is married and assists in the operation
of the home farm. Of the six children who
have passed away, Clarence, the first born, died
when three years old; Herbert grew to man-
hood, married and died in 1896; Eva died at
the age of four years; Ida when about thirteen
years of age; Rupert at the age of nine years;
and Jessie when five years old.
Mr. Stichler is deeply interested in political
affairs and keeps well informed on the questions
and issues of the day. He cast his first presi-
dential ballot for John C. Fremont in 1856 and
has voted for each presidential nominee of the
republican party down to the present time. He
has never sought or desired office, however,
preferring to give his attention to his farm and
business interests. He is a believer in good
schools and in the employment of competent
teachers, and for some years has been an able
member of the school board. He and his wife
are members of the United Brethren church.
For sixty-seven years he has been a resident
of Michigan and of Clinton county for thirty-
seven years and has therefore largely witnessed
the growth and development of the state. In
his business operations he has aided in the im-
provement of a number of Michigan cities but
is now thoroughly identified with the people of
Clinton county, with whom he has been as-
sociated for more than a third of a century. His
acquaintance is wide and favorable, and the es-
teem of a large circle of friends is cordially ex-
tended to him.
ZEPHANIAH SEXTON.
Zephaniah Sexton, thrifty and successful in
his farming operations, owns and operates one
hundred and sixty acres of land on section 13,
Olive township, and has devoted his energies to
the cultivation and development of this place
since 1867. He was born in Clark county,
Ohio, May 23, 1839, while his father,
Zephaniah Sexton, Sr., was a native of Ver-
mont. When seventeen years of age he and his
mother removed to Canada, locating in On-
tario, where he was afterward married. Sub-
sequently he went to New York state, where he
resided for a few years and then returned to
Canada, settling near Berlin. There he en-
gaged in farming for several years and while
residing there he lost his first wife and was
married again, his second wife being Elvira
Clemens. It was of this marriage that the sub-
ect of this review was born. On again leaving
Canada the father took up his abode in Ohio,
where he lived upon a farm until 1843, when
he left the Buckeye state for Illinois, establish-
ing his home in Hancock county, where he
bought a tract of land and spent his remaining
days. He was not long permitted to enjoy his
new home, however, for his death occurred the
following year, 1844. His wife survived him
for many years and died at the home of her
son, Mr. Sexton of this review, in 1895, at the
age of eighty-nine years. There were five chil-
dren in the family, of whom four are yet liv-
ing: James, a resident of Grayville, Illinois;
Mr. Sexton, of this history; Job W., of Clinton
county; and Sarah, the wife of Samuel Barrett,
of Victor township. A daughter, Julia, became
Mrs. Stocker and died about 1902.
Zephaniah Sexton accompanied his parents
on their removal from Ohio to Illinois and in
1846 came to Michigan with his mother,
settling in Oakland county. Their home was-
in Oxford and he was reared and educated
there. In early manhood he made a trip to the
west in 1857, visiting Illinois and Kansas..
After the outbreak of the Civil war he re-
sponded to the country's call for troops, enlist-
ing at Pontiac, Michigan, on the 2d of Sep-
tember, 1 86 1, for three years' service. He was
assigned to Company D, Second Michigan In-
fantry, and going to the south he served
throughout the period of hostilities, re-enlisting-
and thus becoming a veteran. He was made
corporal May 4, 1862, and became color guard.
On the 2d of March, 1863, he was promoted to
sergeant and re-enlisted December 31, 1863, at
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ZEPHANIAH SEXTON.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
237
Blaine's crossroads farm, being mustered in
January 1, 1864. He was with the army for
nearly four years and was first under fire at
Munson Hill, the regiment being attached to
the division under General McClellan, while
later they constituted a part of Burnside's com-
mand. Mr. Sexton was also in the siege of
Vicksburg and at Knoxville. The first im-
portant engagement in which he participated
was at Williamsburg in the spring of 1862.
He was also in the battles at Fair Oaks, Charles
City Crossroads, Malvern Hill, the second bat-
tle of Bull Run and Fredericksburg and after-
ward was transferred to the west with the army
operating in Kentucky. It was subsequent to
this time that he participated in the siege of
Vicksburg and took part in the two battles of
Jackson. He veteranized at Charles City Cross-
roads in Tennessee and was then granted a fur-
lough but because he was ill in the hospital at
Louisville he was only able to spend one-half of
this time — fifteen days — at home. He after-
ward served on detached duty in a regimental
hospital and was mustered out at the close of
the war, July 28, 1865, being honorably dis-
charged on the 8th of August, 1865.
The following year Mr. Sexton arrived in
Clinton county and purchased the farm upon
which he now resides. It was then a tract of
timber land, on which not a tree had been cut.
The following year he took up his abode on
this place and began to clear and fence the
property. Soon the sound of his ax awakened
the echoes of the forest and he continued the
arduous task of cutting down the trees, grub-
bing out the stumps and clearing the fields until
he had his farm in an excellent state of culti-
vation. He has erected a large two-story resi-
dence, also a commodious basement barn and
granary, a sheep pen and other necessary sheds
and buildings and in fact has exerted his energy
along lines of labor that have proved practical
and profitable. He has not only cultivated the
cereals best adapted to the soil and climate but
has also raised good horses and cattle and in
recent years has made a specialty of raising
Shropshire sheep, these different branches of his
business returning to him an excellent income.
In Oakland county on the 3d of July, 1867,
Mr. Sexton was married to Miss Mary Jane
Doty, who died in 1870, leaving a daughter,
Carrie A., now the wife of John H. Chaffee,
who is carrying on her father's farm. Their
children are Erma Irene, Russell Andrew,
Minaor Joyce and Julia Adelia. Mr. Sexton
married again in Oakland county on Christmas
day of 1872, when Sarah E. Mann, of that
county, became his wife. She died November
18, 1877, and the two children born of that
marriage; Verna Lee and Nettie E., are also
deceased. In 1885 in Oakland county Mr. Sex-
ton wedded Miss Anna Neal, of that county,
and this wife died in December, 1886.
In his political views and affiliation Mr. Sex-
ton is a stanch republican, having supported the
party since its organization. He served on the
board of supervisiors of his township for one
term, has been justice of the peace for a num-
ber of years, was commissioner of highways for
two terms and drainage commissioner for four
years and in all these offices has discharged his,
duties with promptness and fidelity. He is a
delegate to the county, judicial and state con-
ventions and is recognized as one of the leading
republicans of the community, his opinions
carrying weight in councils of his party. He
is a member of the Masonic fraternity of
Laingsburg and also 01 the chaptef slid com-
mandery at St. Johns and he likewise belongs
to the Grand Army post at the county seat. In
every relation of life Mr. Sexton has been found
true to the duties which have devolved upon
him and his labors have been a co-operant and
helpful factor in the substantial improvement
and development of this section of the state.
BENJAMIN A. KYES.
Benjamin A. Kyes, who is familiarly called
"Ben" by his numerous friends, being one of
the popular and prominent citizens of his lo-
cality, is actively and successfully engaged in
farming on section 15, Dewitt township, where
he operates two hundred and eighty acres of
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238
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
land within six miles of Lansing. He is one
of the native sons of Michigan, his birth having
occurred in Barry county, May 28, 1866. His
father, Perry Kyes, was also born in this state,
his natal place being Jackson county and the
date March 31, 1832. The grandfather,
Samuel Kyes, was a native of Vermont and was
a son of John Kyes. The family was es-
tablished in the Green Mountain state at an
early period in its development and John Kyes
removed from Vermont to New York, where
his son, Samuel Kyes, was reared to manhood.
He there married Amanda Partlow, a native of
the Empire state, and they were the first repre-
sentatives of the name in Michigan, settling in
Jackson county about 1830. There Samuel
Kyes owned and improved a number of farms,
reared his family in that county, and spent his
remaining days there.
Perry Kyes grew to manhood in Jackson
county and was married in 1864 to Mrs. Sarah
M. Record, a widow, whose birth occurred at
Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, New York, her
father being William Van Tossle. Subsequent
to his marriage Perry Kyes followed the occu-
pation of farming in Jackson county for a
number of years and during the season operated
a threshing machine. In 1868 he came to Clin-
ton county and bought a farm in Olive town-
ship, whereon he devoted his attention to
general agricultural pursuits for a number of
years. He then sold that property and pur-
chased land in Dewitt township, where he now
makes his home, being one of the respected and
worthy agriculturists of the community. Unto
him and his wife have been born four children,
three sons and a daughter: Samuel, who is a
business man of Lansing; Herman, also resid-
ing in the capitol city; Benjamin A., of this
review; and Kittie M., the wife of S. D. Felton,
a farmer of Watertown. By her first marriage
Mrs. Kyes had one son, Edwin, who is now a
farmer of Olive township, and also a daugh-
ter, Lizzie, deceased.
Ben Kyes was reared to manhood in Clinton
county, acquiring his education in the common
schools and in Lansing Business College, where-
by he was well equipped for life's practical and
responsible duties. After completing his studies
he became a teacher in the business college,
being in charge of the penmanship department
for a year. Subsequent to his marriage he took
charge of and has since carried on the West
farm and in connection with the cultivation of
the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he
raises and sells stock and to some extent en-
gages in dairying, while for five years in con-
nection with his father-in-law, Mr. West, he
has been engaged in buying, bailing and ship-
ping hay.
On Christmas day of 1891 Mr. Kyes was
married on the farm where he now resides to
Miss Edith West, a daughter of Andrew S.
West, now of Lansing. Her father was born
in Huntington, Ohio, January 6, 1846, and is
a son of Lyman and Nina (Chapman) West,
both natives of Massachusetts. The family
came to Michigan in 1867, when Andrew S.
was twenty-one years of age, and purchased the
Thomas Robbins farm in Dewitt township,
Clinton county, where Mr. and Mrs. Kyes now
reside. Here Lyman West died when about
seventy-one years of age and his son Andrew
continued to make the farm his home until
February, 1901, when he removed to Lansing.
He is a stanch supporter of the republican party
and has taken quite an active and prominent part
in local politics, serving as supervisor of Clin-
ton county and as chairman of the board, and
justice of the peace for five years. He is a
member of the Royal Arcanum and the Grange,
was the first secretary of Dewitt Grange and
afterward master of the same, and has also
been master of Capital Grange. His only child
is Mrs. Kyes, who was born and reared on the
home farm and completed her education in the
Lansing high school. Three children grace the
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kyes: Neenah A.,
Lennah E. and Mildred.
In his political affiliation Mr. Kyes has fol-
lowed in the political footsteps of his father,
both gentlemen being stanch democrats where
national issues are involved, while locally they
are independent and support the best men re-
gardless of party affiliation. Perry Kyes has
served as justice of the peace for a number of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
239
years, while B. A. Kyes is now a member of
the board of reviews, is likewise a member of
the school board and district clerk. He and his
wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church at Gunnisonville and he is affiliated with
the blue lodge of Masons at Dewitt. His social
qualities, deference for the opinion of others,
good nature and genuine personal worth have
made B. A. Kyes a popular citizen of his com-
munity.
WILLIAM M. SMITH.
William M. Smith, who is now serving for
the third term as prosecuting attorney of Clin-
ton county and makes his home in St. Johns, is
a native of Bath township, this county, born
April 27, 1870. His parents, James M. and
Hannah (Golden) Smith, were natives of Ire-
land and it was during the period of the Civil
war that the father came to Clinton county,
purchasing a tract of land in Bath township.
When he bought his farm it was situated in the
midst of the green woods and was destitute of
improvement, but he at once began to clear
away the trees and cultivate the fields and in
due course of time he gathered rich harvests.
He remained on the old homestead until his
death, which occurred in 1886, while his wife
passed away there in 1885. They were promi-
nent and zealous members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and in his political views
Mr. Smith was a stalwart republican. In their
family were six children: Mattie A.; Anna M.,
who is living in St. Johns; William M. ;
Elizabeth E., the wife of Edward S. La Noble,
of Bath township; George J., who died in 1901
while a medical student in the University of
Michigan; and Robert C, who is superintend-
ent of schools at Schoolcraft, Michigan.
William M. Smith acquired his early edu-
cation largely through private study and later
attended the Agricultural College at Lansing,
Michigan, for some time. Having determined
to engage in the practice of law as a life work,
he then matriculated in the University of Michi-
gan at Ann Arbor, where he studied law, and
was admitted to the bar in Clinton county under
Judge S. B. Daboll on the 17th of November,
1894. The following year he passed the ex-
amination of the state board of education in
twenty-one branches of study and was given a
life certificate as a teacher. Following his ad-
mission to the bar his attention was divided be-
tween teaching and practice. For ten years he
taught in the district and village schools of
Clinton county, ending his work in that direc-
tion in Dewitt in January, 1897, since which
time he has given his undivided attention to his
law practice and political duties which lie within
the strict path of his profession.
In November, 1896, Mr. Smith was elected
on the republican ticket to the office of county
clerk for a term of two years and was re-
elected in November, 1898, for a second term,
acting in that capacity until the 1st of January,
1901. He was chosen prosecuting attorney in
November, 1900, entering upon the duties of
that office on the 1st of January, following. He
was re-elected in 1902 and again in 1904 and
is now serving his third term in that position.
He has made a splendid record and the expenses
of the prosecution of criminal cases to the
county has been reduced three thousand dollars
per annum since he entered upon the duties of
the office. He is a lawyer of marked ability,
careful and earnest in the preparation of his
cases, strong in his arguments and logical in
his deductions, and he has won many notable
triumphs in the courts.
Mr. Smith is recognized as one of the political
leaders of his district in republican circles and
in 1904 was chosen presidential elector, after
which he was made chairman of the electoral
college for the stale of Michigan. He is in-
terested in all that pertains to local progress
and national improvement, and his efforts have
been a tangible factor in the welfare and up-
building of this section of the state. He is a
member of the Masonic fraternity, which he
joined in Dewitt, and he has taken the degrees
of the chapter, council and Eastern Star, while
in St. Johns commandery he is generalissimo.
He likewise belongs to Moslem Temple of the
Mystic Shrine at Detroit, and in the Knights
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240
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
of Pythias lodge is ex-chancellor commander.
He is also connected with the Modern Wood-
men of America, the Maccabees and the Grange,
and is a valued representative of these various
organizations upon whose membership rolls his
name is found. He is a man whose personal
worth is the source of the kindly regard in
which he is uniformly held, while in a pro-
fession wherein individual merit is the source
of all advancement he has gained a creditable
and honorable position.
DAVID CLARK.
Among the honored pioneer settlers of Clin-
ton county was the Clark family, who at a very
early period in the development of this part of
the state took up their abode in Eagle town-
ship. David Clark of this review was born in
Castleton township, Rutland county, Vermont,
June 13, 18 1 7. When he was five years old
his parents removed to Putnam township,
Washington county, New York, where they re-
mained for eight years and then became resi-
dents of the township of Ticonderoga in Essex
county, New York. When David Clark was
a youth of sixteen years, in the latter part of
June, 1833, the father started with his family
for Michigan, traveling by canal boat to the
junction of the Northern and Erid canals and
thence by line boat to Buffalo, reaching
Schenectady on the 3d of July, 1833. The
only railroad in the state of New York at that
time was from Albany to Schenectady. The
bridges over the canal at that early day were
built very low and when the boat passed under
it was necessary that the passengers get down
on their knees or lie down flat in order to keep
from being struck by the bridge. A distance
of about sixty miles was covered in twenty-
four hours, the boat being drawn by two horses.
At Buffalo the family took passage on the
steamer Sheldon Thompson for Detroit, where
most of the family remained, while David Clark
and his brother Henry started for Pontiac in
order to secure a team and move the family to
that place. They resided in Pontiac until Sep-
tember, 1835. In February, 1834, however,
Daniel Clark in company with Anthony Niles,
S. B. Groger, Heman Thomas and John Ben-
son started from Oakland county to buy land
in the Grand River valley and after investi-
gating different localities decided to make pur-
chase in Eagle township, Clinton county. It
was necessary to go to White Pigeon in order
to enter their claims, for at that time the land
office was in that town. Daniel Clark then
returned to Pontiac and on the 12th of May,
1834, David Clark in company with his brother
Daniel, John Benson, Heman Thomas and Cap-
tain Scott started for Clinton county. They
traveled after the manner of the times in a
pioneer settlement, being entertained in the
homes of different settlers when night over-
took them. While on this trip Mr. Clark first
saw an Indian powwow. There were about
three hundred braves, squaws and children and
the men were adorned with war paint and
feathers. One of them played on a flute and
one beat a drum, while the remainder yelled,
danced and drank whiskey. At length the jour-
ney was completed, the party reaching the home
of Anthony Niles on the 19th of May, 1834,
having traveled over what was known as the
Englishman's road from Dewitt to Portland,
it having been cut through by some English-
men about a year before. Daniel Clark then
went to White Pigeon and purchased for his
father the land which was later occupied by
David Clark. The brothers began chopping a
fallow in order to sow wheat and the next fall
chopped about eight acres, after which they
went to Pontiac to work in the haying and
harvest fields. In September of the same year
Daniel and Henry Clark burned off the fallow
in Eagle township and fenced and sowed the
field to wheat, after which they were employed
in Pontiac through the winter. In the spring,
however, they continued the work of improv-
ing the farm and planted their cleared land to
corn, potatoes and turnips that the family might
have something to live upon the following win-
ter. In September, 1835, the father brought
his wife and the other members of the family
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DAVID CLARK.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
243
to Eagle township, locating on the farm which
was the home of David Clark until his death.
In those early days they had to go to
Pontiac to mill with an ox team and it re-
quired about eight days to make the trip, in
the summer time they would camp out by the
roadside at night, preparing their own meals
and letting their oxen feed along the way.
They had to go to Pontiac or Detroit for all
household goods, wearing materials and salt and
at that day a barrel of salt cost five dollars.
Much hard work was to be done in clearing the
farms, which were heavily timbered with oak,
ash, beech, maple, elm, basswood, black walnut,
cherry and hickory trees. When the claim had
been entered the family would clear a little tract
of land in order to build a cabin, usually living
with some of the neighbors until the little house
could be erected. Such pioneer homes were
usually constructed of logs with shake roofs
and plank floors. There was a mud and stick
chimney and the roof would shed rain better
than it would keep out the snow. In 1836
many speculators came to the country and the
land office was moved from White Pigeon to
Bronson and in the fall of that year to Ionia.
In the year 1837 the legislature passed what
was called the wildcat banking law and the
country became flooded with a currency almost
worthless and hard times followed, causing
much suffering among the settlers. In 1836
the Newman family built a saw and grist mill
at Portland, after which the Clarks went to
that place instead of Pontiac to secure their
bread stuffs.
David Clark assisted in all of the arduous
work of clearing and improving the farm in
those early days when grass was cut with a
scythe and the grain with a sickle or cradle.
Now the mower is used on the lawn and the
binder in the harvest fields. Cooking was done
over the fireplace, the kettles being hung from
hooks on the cranes. Tallow candles were used
in lighting the houses and there were flint
locks on the guns. The clothing was made of
wool and flax spun by the women of the house-
hold and woven by them into cloth. Great
changes have since been wrought and in all
the advancement of progress the Clark family
have kept pace. There were no railroads in
those early days and it required as long to make
a trip to Detroit as it does to make a trip to
New York at the present day. In the winter
the members of the household chopped their
fallows, burning the logs in the spring and
then planting their corn, potatoes and other
crops. In the winter of 1842-3 the snow fell
to a depth of three feet on the level and re-
mained on the ground until April. The wolves
caused considerable trouble to the settlers and
the Indians would not kill them, calling them
brother hunters, but when Clinton county was
organized the board of supervisors passed a
resolution to pay eight dollars for the skin of
every wolf killed in the county and the red
men then began killing off their "brothers."
The Methodist and Baptist ministers were
usually the first ones to make their way into
new settlements and would frequently hold
proLracted meetings, in which sectarianism was
a strong feature. Gradually the work of im-
provement and progress was carried on. In
1847 tne legislature passed a law to remove the
state capital from Detroit to Lansing and this
meant improvement and development for the
surrounding district. The first session of the
legislature was held there in 1848. A plank
road was built to Detroit and to Jackson and
soon a railroad was constructed from Jackson
to Lansing, while to-day Lansing is one of the
leading railroad centers of the west. All this
was a source of benefit to Clinton and Eaton
counties and the early settlers who remained
courageously on their farms and met the hard-
ships and discouragements of frontier life have
at length profited by their labors. The Clark
family in the course of time developed good
farms, improved with substantial buildings.
David Clark always remained upon the old fam-
ily homestead and in the course of years be-
came the owner of a property, which through
the labors of himself and brothers was trans-
formed into a very valuable tract. He passed
away on the 24th of October, 1905. All of
the hardships and experiences of frontier life
came to him but he persevered in his work and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
in later years related many interesting incidents
of the early days when Clinton county, far re-
moved from railroads, seemed cut off from the
civilization of the east by long stretches of
forest.
W. S. STARKWEATHER.
On the list of retired citizens in Elsie ap-
pears the name of W. S. Starkweather. He
is now enjoying a well earned rest but for
years was a prosperous farmer of Clinton
county and also owned and operated land in
Montcalm county. He had farming interests
in Ovid and Duplain townships and was
actively engaged in the tilling of the soil until
1 90 1, when he removed to Elsie and purchased
the residence property that he now owns. He
dates his residence in Michigan from 1847 and
in Clinton county from 1856. He was born at
Eagle Harbor, New York, March 14, 1847.
His father, Sidney Smith Starkweather, was
a native of New York and was there reared
and married. He wedded Miss Sarah Smith,
a native of Pennsylvania and* in order to pro-
vide for his family he followed the millwright's
trade, devoting his entire life to that pursuit.
In 1847 he removed westward to Michigan,
locating first at Pontiac, where he was em-
ployed at his trade, building the first mill on
the shore of Lake Huron. It was a sawmill
and Mr. Starkweather removed his family
there and remained for a year, after which he
returned to Pontiac. In 1856 he located in
the town of Ovid, Clinton county, where he
was also engaged in business as a millwright.
He and his sons likewise cleared and opened
up a farm in Ovid township, whereon he made
his home during his last days. His death,
however, occurred at the residence of his
daughter in Oakland county, his wife having
passed away some four years previous. In
their family were twelve children, six of whom
reached adult age, of whom two sons and two
daughters are yet living.
W. S. Starkweather spent the days of his
boyhood and youth in the usual manner of
farm lads in Ovid township and assisted in
the arduous task of clearing and developing
the home place. He remained with his father
until after he had reached adult age and in
1864, when a youth of seventeen years, he
responded to the country's call for aid, enlist-
ing in Company K, Thirtieth Michigan In-
fantry. He was detailed to take drafted men
to the front and return prisoners to the north
and thus he served until the final close of the
war, being honorably discharged in June, 1865.
Mr. Starkweather then returned to his home,
where he lived at different intervals for several
years, working, however, at other times in
other localities. He was married in Ovid
township, in March, 1873, to Miss Amanda
Acre, a native of Canada. In the Acre family
were seven children, four sons and three daugh-
ters : Joseph, who is living in St. Johns, Michi-
gan; Edward, a farmer residing near the
Colony in Duplain township; Arthur, a resident
of Ovid township; Grant, who is living in
Eagle township; Mrs. Starkweather; Mary,
the wife of Harrison Wilson, of Gratiot county;
and Lillie, the wife of James Worden, of
Elsie. Mrs. Starkweather largely spent her
girlhood and youth in Clinton county.
After his marriage Mr. Starkweather rented
land in Ovid township, where he engaged in
farming for two years, and subsequently re-
moved to Montcalm county, where he purchased
eighty acres of raw land and began the develop-
ment of a garm, transforming the tract into a
productive property. There he lived for four
years, . after which he sold that place and
returned to Clinton county, purchasing forty
acres of land in Duplain township, near Elsie.
Again he began the development and improve-
ment of a farm and subsequently he purchased
the old homestead in Ovid township, to which
he removed, living there for many years, when
he sold the property to his father, from whom
he had purchased it. Mr. Starkweather of this
review once more took up his abode in Duplain
township, where he carried on agricultural pur-
suits for a few years, and then traded the
place for another farm of eighty acres in
Duplain township. Settling thereon he greatly
improved the property, adding to it all mod-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
245
ern equipments and accessories. He also built
a fine large barn at a cost of one thousand
dollars and remodeled and improved the house.
In all of his agricultural work he has been
enterprising antl progressive, keeping in touch
with modern thought regarding agricultural
interests. He has been eminently practical in
all his work and year by year he has harvested
good crops and thus secured a gratifying
financial return for his labor. At length he
sold out and bought a home in Elsie, where
he has since lived retired. He likewise owns
another residence in the town.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Starkweather have been
born three daughters, the eldest being Carrie
Belle, the wife of James White, of Lansing,
Michigan, by whom she has a son, Vern. Ruby
Pearl is the wife of Archie Leavey, of Duplain
township, and they have two sons, Glen and
Dale, and a daughter, Irma. Nora is the wife
of Dow Bennett, of Fairfield, Michigan, and
they have two children, Almon and Ethena.
The parents are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which Mr. Starkweather
is serving on the board of stewards. He be-
longs to the Grand Army post at Elsie and
gives his political allegiance to the republican
party, the principles of which he has stanchly
championed since casting his first presidential
vote for U. S. Grant. In all life's relations,
whether upon the field of battle, in the dis-
charge of civic duties or in meeting the obli-
gations of home, social or business life Mr.
Starkweather is always found loyal and true
and his many excellent traits of character com-
mend him to the good will of all with whom
he has been associated.
OTIS J. DUTCHER.
Otis J. Dutcher, living on section 5, Eagle
township, was born in Roxana township, Eaton
county, Michigan, February 16, 1875. His
parents, George W. and Sibyl (Savage)
Dutcher, were natives of Pennsylvania, and in
early life became residents of Eaton county,
where they were married forty years ago. The
paternal grandfather, David Dutcher, took up
his abode in that county about a half century
ago and there cleared the farm which is now
owned by George W. Dutcher. The grand-
father was for many years a worthy and re-
spected pioneer settler of his county and died
in September, 1904, at the venerable age of
eighty-seven years, while his wife, who bore
the maiden name of Lucinda Swinley, and was
a native of Pennsylvania, died in September,
1900, at the age of seventy-four years. The
maternal grandfather, Abram Savage, was a
native of Pennsylvania, and took up his abode
in Eaton county, Michigan, about fifty years
ago, entering a claim of eighty acres from the
government. He is still living at the age of
ninety-two years and is one of the oldest citi-
zens of the state and an honored pioneer settler
of his community. His wTife was Esther Beach,
a native of Pennsylvania, who died in 1893,
at the age of eighty-five years. George W.
Dutcher was one of a family of six children,
of whom two are living, his brother being
Warren, a resident of Pennsylvania. Through-
out the greater part of his life George W.
Dutcher has been identified with agricultural
pursuits in Michigan, and reared his family in
Eaton county. He has six children: Norman
E., who resides in Antrim county, Michigan;
Otis J. ; Ernest B., a resident of Victor town-
ship, Clinton county; Perley, of Eagle town-
ship; Esther L., also of Eagle township; and
Sibyl, who is living in Eaton county.
Otis J. Dutcher began his education in the
district schools and at the age of fourteen years
started out to earn his own living by working
as a farm hand by the month, being thus em-
ployed for sixteen years. On the 28th of De-
cember, 1904, he removed to his present farm
owned by Jacob Dravenstadt, on section 5,
Eagle township, and here he has displayed the
qualities of an enterprising agriculturist for he
is an energetic and hard-working young man.
On the 27th of March, 1900, Mr. Dutcher
was married to Miss Ella May Tillitson, a
daughter of John and Marie L., (McCreub)
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Tillitson, of Eagle township. Her father died
March 5, 1902, at the age of forty-five years,
while his wife passed away March 10, 1902,
also, when forty-two years of age. In their
family were nine children, Ella May, Pearl,
Elroy, Eddie, Clarence and Leon, all of whom
are yet living, while Orpha, Roy and one
other died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Dutcher
have two children, Velda and Catherine. Mr.
Dutcher works persistently and energetically in
his farming operations and is meeting with
good success. He is respected for his de-
termination and genuine worth and has gained
many friends during his residence in this part
of the state.
OTHMAN W. LOWELL.
Othman W. Lowell, one of the respected and
representative farmers of Watertown town-
ship, living on section 23, is a native of the
Empire state, his birth having occurred in
Shelby township, Orleans county, August 6,
1838. The Lowells are of English descent and
come of the same ancestry as James Russell
Lowell, the distinguished essayist. Othman
W. Lowell is a son of Josiah and Joanna ( Har-
ris) Lowell, the former a native of Vermont
and the latter of New Hampshire. Following
his marriage, the father came to Clinton county,
Michigan, in 1839, settling on section 21, Wa-
tertown township. In January, 1840, he re-
turned for his family, journeying on foot
through Canada to his old home in the Em-
pire state. On making the trip westward in
the spring of 1839, he was accompanied by
Joseph S. Loomis and Joseph Sanborn, who lo-
cated on the west half of the southeast quarter
of section 21. As he could not pay for the
claim he remained and chopped down trees and
put up a log cabin. He thus paid for his land
by cutting timber for others but Mr. Loomis
and Mr. Sanborn paid for their land at the
time the claim was filed. These gentlemen
made the first permanent settlement at Water-
town Center. In 1840 Josiah Lowell brought
his family by boat from Buffalo to Detroit,
where he was met with an ox-team and thus
the journey was continued through the forests
to Watertown township, it requiring eight days
to make the trip from Detroit. The family
numbered eight members, the eldest child that
came with them, George, now a resident of
Watertown township, being at that time six-
teen years of age. Cassin came later. On
reaching the little log cabin they found that it
was minus floors and doors and that Mr. Low-
ell had put up only the walls and roof and the
family occupied it in that way until it could
be completed. Mr. Lowell worked about the
neighborhood as he could get employment in
order to earn the money that would supply his
family with provisions and other necessaries.
Later he paid for the original forty acres and
erected thereon good buildings and as his finan-
cial resources still further increased he pur-
chased eighty acres of land on section 31.
Thus year by year he prospered and also won
for himself an honorable name. He died May
4, i860, at the age of sixty-nine years, while
his wife passed away November 6, 1866, when
seventy-three years of age. He had been
prominent and influential in community affairs,
had served as justice of the peace and highway
commissioner for a number of years and was
identified with the Methodist Episcopal church
and the Masonic fraternity. His funeral was
the first conducted by that order in this locality.
When Mr. Lowell arrived in Watertown town-
ship the other settlers of the township were
Elial and Truman Ingersoll, living on section
35, Mr. Billings on section 36, Jonas Smith on
section 31, and Stephen Hill on section 15.
There was also a small settlement at Wacousta,
where a grist mill had been established, Calvin
Marvin, the first settler in Watertown town-
ship, had located on section 12 in 1835. Thus
the Lowells became early identified with the
development and progress of the county and
they took an active and helpful part in the
reclamation of the wild land for the purposes of
civilization. In the family of Josiah Lowell
were ten children, those still living being:
Edna, wife of Willard King, of Watertown
township; Laura, the widow of A. J. Smith
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
249
and a resident of Wacousta; George W., who
is living in Watertown township; Martha, the
wife of M. L. Corbin, of the same township;
and Othman W. Those who have passed away
are : Julia, the wife of George C. Jarvis ; Cassin,
who was the eldest son ; Jane, the wife of Elias
Garlock; Marian, the wife of Levi Garlock;
and John H.
Othman W. Lowell attended the first school
at Watertown Center when a youth of ten
years. He had had no educational privileges
prior to that time, having never seen a school-
house nor a teacher. His first teacher was Mrs.
Cornelia Hazzard, who is now living in Wa-
cousta. Mr. Lowell continued on the home
farm, going four miles through the forests in
order to attend school. He had little oppor-
tunity to pursue his studies save in the winter
season for it was necessary that he aid in the
labors of the farm during the summer months.
He remained upon the old homestead and after
his father's death came into possession of a part
of the land on which he continued until the fall
of 1868, when he sold that property and took
up his abode on his present farm, comprising
one hundred and sixty acres on section 23,
Watertown township. It was covered with a
dense growth of timber and there were no
roads. The land was wild and unimproved and
it seemed that the work of progress had scarcely
been begun. Mr. Lowell cleared all of the land
himself, split rails, erected buildings and in the
course of years has developed a splendidly im-
proved farm. This has required much arduous
toil and his life has been a strenuous one but
his labors have in due course of time been
crowned with a gratifying measure of pros-
perity.
In August, 1859, was celebrated the mar-
riage of Mr. Lowell and Miss Jeanette Masters,
a daughter of George Masters, of Wayne
county, New York, who in 1852 took up his
abode in Westphalia township, Clinton county.
Their children are: Edith, the wife of John
Cramer, of Watertown township; Herbert J.,
who resides on a farm adjoining his father's
home; Clark, at home; Gerry, who is business
manager for a gasoline engine company at
Lansing, Michigan; Jennie and Mattie, who
are yet with their parents.
Mr. Lowell gives an earnest support to the
democracy and has been called to several town-
ship offices. He served as highway commis-
sioner for ten years, has been drain commis-
sioner for two terms and school director for
fourteen years and in the discharge of his
duties has ever been prompt and capable, win-
ning the confidence of the general public. He is
one of the substantial and reliable citizens of
Clinton county at the present time and has been
familiar with its history from almost the be-
ginning of its development. His mind bears
the impress of its early historic annals as well
as of the events which constitute its later
progress and improvement and he justly de-
serves mention in this volume.
LUTHER L. NICHOSON.
Luther L. Nichoson, who is engaged in
general farming on section 30, Westphalia
township, was born in Kent county, Michigan,
November 14, 1856. His parents, Orson and
Matilda (Moe) Nichoson, were natives of the
state of New York and came to Michigan after
their marriage, settling near Ann Arbor after
living for a brief period at Grattan, Kent
county, Michigan. The father was a farmer
by occupation and an influential man of his lo-
cality, where he was called to fill several offices.
He died about the time of the outbreak of the
Civil war. His wife, long surviving him,
passed away in March, 1896, at the age of
seventy-nine years. She was a devoted Chris-
tian woman and a prominent member and
worker in the Methodist Episcopal church,
doing all in her power to promote its growth
and extend its influence. In the family were
seven children: John W., who is living in
Luther, Michigan; Eugene L., who also makes
his home in that town; Ernest R., who is serv-
ing as probate judge at Luther; Phebe, the wife
of G. W. Temple, of Luther; Luther L., of
this review; Martha, the wife of George Hall,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
a resident of Belding, Michigan; and Arthur
C, also living at Belding.
Luther L. Nichoson began his education in
the district schools and continued it in the high
school of Graton Center. His experiences were
those that usually fall to the lot of the farm
lad and he remained on the old homestead until
sixteen years of age, when he went to Portland,
Michigan, where he attended school and was
variously employed, giving a part of his time
to milling and lumbering. After his marriage
he settled on a farm, taking up his abode on an
eighty-acre tract of land near Luther, and in
1893 he removed to his present farm on sec-
tion 30, Westphalia township. Here he has
seventy-two acres of richly cultivated land,
constituting a well improved and valuable farm,
which he cultivates according to modern ideas.
In 1885 Mr. Nichoson wras married to Miss
Sarah Campbell, a daughter of Samuel and
Almina (Briggs) Campbell. In politics he is
independent, voting for the best men regardless
of party affiliation. He belongs to the Grange,
and seeking not to figure in public life, gives
unremitting attention to his well conducted and
well managed business interests.
ABNER LETTS.
Abner Letts, to whom has been vouchsafed
an honorable retirement from labor and is now
enjoying a well earned rest in Elsie, is a car-
penter and joiner by trade and during many
years was identified with building operations,
so that many evidences of his handiwork are
seen in substantial structures in Clinton county,
where he has made his home since December,
1850. He is a native of New York, his birth
having occurred in Seneca county on the 28th
of April, 1842. His father, Daniel Letts, was
a native of New Jersey and was reared there.
He served his country as a soldier in the war
of 18 1 2, and on leaving New Jersey removed
to Seneca county, New York, where he carried
on general agricultural pursuits. He married
Miss Susan Mabee, who died during the child-
hood of their son Abner, about 1852. Daniel
Letts afterward removed to Michigan, settling
on a farm in Duplain township, Clinton county,
in 1858. His land was in the midst of the
green forest but he cleared away the trees and
developed a good property, making his home
thereon until his death, which occurred when
he was sixty-six years of age.
Abner Letts was reared upon the old home
farm, which bordered the river. He is largely
a self-educated man, his opportunities for at-
tending school being quite limited, but in the
school of experience he has learned many valu-
able lessons. He enlisted at Pontiac, in Sep-
tember, 1861, joining the First Michigan
Cavalry, with which he served until 1865. He
participated in the second battle of Bull Run, in
the engagement at Gettysburg, the battle of
the Wilderness with Custer's Brigade and was
in a number of other engagements of lesser im-
portance. At Manchester his right arm was
slightly wounded and his clothing was pierced
by bullets, but he escaped any serious injury.
However, toward the close of the war he be-
came ill and was discharged at the hospital in
Detroit, August 3, 1865. After returning
home and somewhat recuperating his health Mr.
Letts began working on the farm and through-
out the greater part of his life has given his
attention to agricultural pursuits.
In 1867, in Novi, Oakland county, Mr. Letts
was united in marriage to Miss Ada Wilson,
a native of Clinton county, born in Ovid town-
ship. Her father, Joseph Wilson, was a soldier
of the Civil war, was wounded at Cold Harbor
and later died. After his marriage Mr. Letts
located on a farm, commencing with forty
acres, which he cultivated for two years. He
then sold the property and removed to Oakland
county, where he operated a farm on the shares
for two years. On the expiration of that period
he took up his abode in Ovid, where he worked
at carpentering for seven years, at the end of
which time he located in Saginaw county,
Michigan, and bought a tract of forty acres of
woodland. Clearing away the timber he culti-
vated the fields, residing thereon until he sold
the property and removed to Elsie. Here he
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ABNER LETTS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
253
purchased a home and worked at his trade for
a number of years but is now living a retired
life, resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of
his former toil.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Letts were born a son
and daughter: John C, a carpenter of Elsie,
who is married and has one son, Rollie; and
Fannie, the wife of Harley Emmons, a farmer
of Duplain township, by whom she has two
daughters, May and Ethel. Mr. and Mrs. Letts
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church
at Elsie and take an active part in church work.
For some time he was officially identified with
the church at Chapin, served on its building
committee in the capacity of treasurer, and
filled other positions. Mr. Letts is a Grand
Army man, taking an active interest in the
work of the organization, while for two terms
he has served as commander of the post. His
wife is also a member of the Womans Relief
Corps. His political allegiance is given un-
falteringly to the republican party, and while
living in Saginaw county he served as high-
way commissioner and school director. He has
been a resident of Michigan during the greater
part of his life and is one of the few remaining
old settlers and army veterans. He has aided
in upbuilding and improving Clinton county,
has cleared and developed three farms and has
been identified with building operations so that
his labors have been factors in the material de-
velopment of this part of the state.
NORMAN WILLIAMS.
Norman Williams, deceased, who developed
from the wilderness the present fine farm upon
which his widow now resides, was born in
Herkimer county, New York, November 9,
1823. His father, Jacob Williams, was a na-
tive of Germany and after coming to America
established his home in Fairfield township,
Herkimer county. There the mother died in
1832 and Norman Williams was therefore left
at the age of nine years to make his home
among strangers. He began learning the
cooper's trade but only followed it for about
a year, when he secured employment as a farm
hand. That labor proved more congenial and
he was thus employed until 1849, when, at-
tracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific
slope, he made his way to California, visiting
both Sacramento and San Francisco and spend-
ing three years in the mines. In 1852 he re-
turned to the east as far as Michigan and took
up his abode in Clinton county, where he pur-
chased one hundred and sixty acres of un-
improved land on section 35, Bingham town-
ship. Only five acres had been cleared but by
hard work and unremitting toil he managed to
make a good home and afterward added one
hundred and forty acres which adjoined his
original purchase. This he continued to im-
prove until he had made for himself and fam-
ily one of the finest farms in the township. He
also erected a very comfortable, commodious
and attractive residence, the home being sur-
rounded by a beautiful lawn and shaded by fine
trees. Just as he was in a position, however,
to put aside the arduous cares of life and enjoy
his pleasant home and the many comforts which
his former toil had provided him death separated
him from all earthly ties and on the 1st of
August, 1896, he passed away, leaving a widow,
three sons and a daughter.
Mr. Williams was married November 3,
1864, to Miss Sarah Lanphere, a daughter of
Ezekiel and Jane Lanphere, of Plymouth,
Wayne county, Michigan. Her parents were
among the pioneer families of Clinton county,
to which they removed from Wayne county
in 1850, settling in Bingham township, where
her father died September 8, 1855, leaving a
widowr and ten children, six of whom are yet
living, namely: L. B., of Sand Hill, near De-
troit; Hudson H. M., of Stanton, Michigan;
Mrs. Jane Clough, of Muskegon; Mrs. Elsie
Compton, of Waukegan, Illinois; Mrs. H. M.
Bush, of Saginaw, Michigan; and Mrs. Wil-
liams, with whom the mother made her home
soon after the death of the father, there re-
maining until she too passed away on the 19th
of May, 1888.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams became the parents
of four children: A. Fred, a commission
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
merchant of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; B.
Maude, a music teacher; Victor N., who is
conductor for the Lansing Traction Company
at Lansing; and Murray C, who is in the
grocery business at St. Johns. The daughter
gave up her musical career that she might re-
main at home to comfort and be a companion
to her mother, who still lives in a handsome
residence on the farm which was built by Mr.
Williams. The land, however, is rented. By
the death of Mr. Williams the township lost
a progressive citizen and much respected man.
He had not only proved his value in support of
all material interests in the township but was
also active and helpful in church circles from
1 87 1, when he joined the Methodist Episcopal
church of Bingham township, a mission of the
Olive Methodist Episcopal church. He was
also a warm friend of the cause of education
and was a member of the district school board.
By his honest and straightforward dealing and
conduct at all times he earned a reputation
for integrity that made his word as good as his
bond. Politically he was a stanch democrat and
at all times he was fearless in support of his
honest convictions. He left to his family not
only a comfortable competence but also an un-
tarnished name.
HERMAN F. WARD.
When the forests were cleared from the land
in Michigan its productiveness was soon proven
and agriculture has since been one of the chief
sources of revenue in the state. Herman F.
Ward, following the occupation of farming on
section 34, Essex township, has prospered in
his chosen department of business activity and
is now one of the enterprising and successful
farmers of his community, owning and culti-
vating one hundred acres of land. He was born
upon this farm, October 20, 1856. His father,
John Ward, was a native of Lincolnshire,
England, where he spent his youth. Later he
came to the new world and after a year's resi-
dence in the state of New York resumed his
westward journey to Michigan, settling in
Clinton county, where he bought the land upon
which his son Herman now resides. It was
then covered wtih timber but he at once be-
gan the arduous task of clearing the fields and
preparing them for the plow. He bought eighty
acres, of which he cleared fifty, building a log
house upon the place. His remaining days
were spent upon his farm and as the years
passed he transformed the land into a pro-
ductive and valuable tract. He was married
in the Empire state to Miss Harriet Dart, a
native of England. His death occurred in
1869 but his widow still survives and now
resides with her son Herman on the old family
homestead. There were two sons, Frank being
now a resident of St. Johns.
Herman F. Ward was reared upon the home-
stead farm and acquired a district-school edu-
cation. He remained with his mother until
he had attained his majority and then took
charge of the farm. Prior to this time he had
been employed for three years as a farm hand,
working by the month. From early youth he
has been familiar with the labors of the fields,
for he took his place behind the plow when
but a young lad. In all that he undertakes he
is practical, brooking no obstacles that can be
overcome by determined, earnest and honorable
effort and as the years have gone by he has
developed an excellent property, being now the
owner of one hundred acres of rich and pro-
ductive land from which he annually garners
good harvests.
Herman F. Ward was married in Essex
township about 1880 to Miss Mary West, a na-
tive of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Samuel
West. Mr. and Mrs. Ward have become the
parents of five children: Hattie, who was for-
merly engaged in teaching in the schools of
Clinton county; Nina, the wife of Murdo
Bancroft, a farmer of Essex township; Elsie,
Lawrence and Robert, all at home.
Mr. Ward gives his undivided attention to
his farm labors and has erected a neat residence
upon his place, also a good barn. He has like-
wise planted considerable fruit, has fenced the
place, cleared the fields of stumps and altogether
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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has a neat and productive farm, on which he
is raising good crops and also handling good
graded stock. He has never faltered in his
allegiance to the republican party, although he
has never been a politician in the sense of office
seeking. He served, however, for two terms
as a member of the board of reviews and has
been a member of the school board. The cause
of education finds in him a warm friend and
he believes in the employment of good teachers
and in continually raising the standard of the
schools. He and his wife are members of the
Lowe Methodist Episcopal church, in which
he is serving as steward and in the work of
the Sunday-school he is also interested, having
for three years served as its superintendent. He
belongs to the Masonic lodge at Maple Rapids
and he and his wife affiliate with the Order
of the Eastern Star. He is likewise a member
of the Knights of the Maccabees. For almost
a half century a resident of Essex township, he
has seen many changes here as the county has
been developed and improved and to it have
been added the advantages and equipments of
agricultural, industrial and commercial develop-
ment. He has taken just pride in what has
been accomplished and may well be termed one
of the public-spirited citizens.
FRANK C. DUNN, M. D.
Dr. Frank C. Dunn, a practitioner of medi-
cine and surgery in St. Johns, his native city,
was born September 16, 1871, his parents being
Hiram and Margaret (Cottrell) Dunn, the for-
mer a native of Canada and the latter of New
Jersey. Following their marriage, in 1867,
they removed from Welland, Canada, to St.
Johns, where the father followed blacksmithing,
conducting a shop for a number of years. He
is now a well preserved man at the age of
seventy-five years. His wife, who was born
March 20, 183 1, died at the age of sixty-four
years, January 11, 1895. In their family were
seven children, of whom Dr. Dunn is the
youngest. The other surviving members of
the household are Alonzo E., now living at
Greenville, Illinois; George H., a resident of
Perry, Michigan; and Charles L., residing at
St. Johns. Those deceased are William J., who
died in 1882, at the age of twenty-three years;
Georgiana, who died at the age of seven years;
and Annetta L., whose death occurred at the
age of two and a half years.
At the usual age Dr. Dunn entered the
public schools of his native city, passing
through successive grades until he became a
high-school student. His preliminary profes-
sional training was received in the office and
under the direction of the late Dr. A. J. Wig-
gins, of this city, and he won his degree upon
graduation from the Michigan College of
Medicine and Surgery at Detroit on the 15th
of March, 1892. He located for practice in
the same spring in Fowler, Clinton county, and
since the 1st of June, 1896, has been a member
of the medical fraternity at St. Johns, where
a • liberal patronage has been accorded him in
recognition of his thorough understanding of
the principles of medicine and his accuracy in
applying these principles to the needs of suf-
fering humanity. His standing with his pro-
fessional brethren is indicated by the fact that
he was elected in October, 1904, to the presi-
dency of the Clinton County Medical Society.
He is also a member of the Michigan State
Medical Society and the American Medical
Association and he is examiner for the New
York Life Insurance Company and the Home
Life of New York.
Dr. Dunn is a worthy follower of the craft,
belonging to the Masonic lodge in St. Johns,
also to St. Johns lodge, No. 182, and to the
endowment rank, while in the subordinate lodge
he is a past chancellor. His name is likewise
on the membership rolls of Ionia lodge, No.
548, B. P. O. E. His political support is
given the republican party, but the only office
which he has ever sought or filled was one in
the direct line of his profession, for he has
served as county physician since 1897. He is
a man of large stature, of generous impulses,
warm hearted and of ready sympathy, whose
social prominence is as much the result of an
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
irreproachable private life as his professional
advancement is the outcome of individual merit
and ability.
OMAR B. DILLS.
Omar B. Dills, an active and energetic
farmer and stock raiser, owns a valuable tract
of land of seventy acres on section 9, Dewitt
township, not far from the village of Dewitt.
He was born in Farmington, Oakland county,
Michigan, September 29, 1848, and is a son of
William and Maria Dills, both of whom are
represented elsewhere in this volume. With his
parents he came to Dewitt, Clinton county, in
1852, being then a little lad of four summers.
He was reared in Olive township, pursuing his
education in the district school in Olive and
a few winters in the select school in Dewitt
village, which was kept by Mrs. Caroline
Bement, an old pioneer teacher of Dewitt, while
in the summer months he assisted in the work
of the farm. He remained with his father and
aided him in carrying on the farm until his
thirty-third year.
On December 8, 1880, at the home of Rev.
H. S. Hitchcock, of Royal Oak, Oakland
county, Michigan (a former home of Mrs.
Dills), Mr. Dills was united in marriage to Miss
Abbie E. Hutchins, of Dewitt, who was born
in Dewitt village, July 22, 1857. Her parents
were among the early settlers of this locality.
Mrs. Dills received her education in schools in
Lansing, Royal Oak and Dewitt and was a
capable teacher for a number of years prior to
her marriage. She has been for a number of
years correspondent to the Lansing and St.
Johns papers. Following their marriage Mr.
and Mrs. Dills settled upon' the home place,
where they lived for three years, after which he
rented the Bassett farm, east of the village,
where they lived for one year, when in 1884
they purchased the Dewitt Brinkerhoff farm
(formerly the J. Gillett farm), where they now
reside, and began its further cultivation and im-
provement. Mr. Dills has made a specialty of
raising good horses and has sold some high-
priced, well-bred and valuable animals.
In his political views Mr. Dills is a stanch
republican but without political aspiration, giv-
ing his time and attention to his farming and
stock-raising interests. Unto him and his wife
have been born a son and a daughter : Gerry W.,
born November 30, 1886, and Helen A., born
August 9, 1889, both being still in school.
Gerry, who is attending the Lansing Business
University, is a graduate of Dewitt high
school. Helen is finishing her last year in
the Dewitt school. The parents are members
of the Universalist church, Mr. Dills being
reared in that faith. He is also a member of
the Modern Woodman camp of Dewitt, where
he has served as head council as well as in
other offices in the camp. Both he and his wife
are connected with Dewitt Grange, of which
she is the present secretary. She is also serv-
ing her third year as secretary of Clinton
County Pomona Grange; record keeper of the
L. O. T. M. M. lodge; recently finished a
four and a half years' secretaryship in the
Order of the Eastern Star chapter ; and is now
serving as secretary of the Michigan State
Grange woman's work committee. Mr. and
Mrs. Dills are esteemed for their genuine worth
and their circle of friends is almost co-extensive
with the circle of their acquaintances.
EZRA M. HUTCHINS.
Ezra M. Hutchins, an honored early settler
of Michigan and the father of Mrs. Abbie E.
Dills, represented elsewhere in this work, came
of sturdy New England stock. He was born
May 1, 1823, in Atkinson, Piscataquis county,
Maine, numbering among his ancestors Robert
Fulton, the Garrys and others of note. He ac-
quired his education in the village schools at
Maple Corners, Maine, and while still in his
teens began teaching. He was a fine penman
and conducted writing schools in the evenings,
following that vocation until thirty years of
age, when he followed Horace Greeley's advice,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
259
"Go west young man, go west," and in the
summer of 1853 reached the village of Dewitt,
Michigan. Here he began reading law with
Frank and Randolph Strickland, pioneer at-
torneys of this county, and in the winter sea-
sons taught school in Watertown and Dewitt.
He also held various township offices and his
time was thus occupied until 1857, when he
joined Mr. Parker in the grocery business in
Lansing. His health failing him he purchased
a farm near the German church in Dewitt and
operated his land in the summer months, while
in the winters he continued teaching until May,
1864, when with a party of St. Johns and
Lansing people he took the overland route to
Idaho and California, hoping that the trip
might benefit his health. There he remained
until his death, in 1879.
Mr. Hutchins was married, October 20,
1856, to Miss Helen Hurd, the eldest of twelve
children born unto Daniel and Eliza Hurd,
pioneers of Dewitt township. Her birthplace
was Rutland, Rutland county, Vermont, and
her natal day was September 20, 1832. At an
early age she accompanied her parents on their
removal to New York, where they remained
for several years. Afterward they came to the
west, reaching the towmship of Dewitt, Clinton
county, in 1844. There they endured many
hardships common to pioneer life. They first
settled in what is now known as Gunnisonville
until the house on Mr. Hurd's farm on section
20 could be completed. Helen Hurd became
one of the pioneer teachers in the southern part
of Clinton county, acting in that capacity in
several districts near her home and also for
several terms at Watertown, Center and Victor.
She followed this profession until October 20,
1856, when she gave her hand in marriage to
Ezra M. Hutchins. They resided in the village
of Dewitt until the fall of 1857, wnen tne
county seat was removed from Dewitt to St.
Johns, and Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins went to
Lansing, where they remained for a few years.
Unto them were born five children : Mrs. Abbie
E. Dills, now living in Dewitt; Daniel H. and
Lizzie F., both of Gaylord, Michigan; Charles
M., who died in 1880; and Herbert E., of
Chicago. Mrs. Hutchins broke up housekeep-
ing in 1882 and went to Lansing to keep house
for her brother, D. C. Hurd, and care for his
young daughter recently bereft of her mother.
She continued to reside with her brother until
her death, which occurred December 20, 1884.
JAMES McGILLICUDDY, M. D.
Dr. James McGillicuddy, who in the prac-
tice of medicine at Shepardsville is winning
creditable success, was born in Watford,
Ontario, Canada, November 28, 1871, his
parents being E. and Jane (Fullerton) Mc-
Gillicuddy, both of whom were natives of Ire-
land. The father came to America when seven
years of age, settling in Canada, where for
many years he has followed the occupation of
farming. Both he and his wife are still resi-
dents of Ontario. They have reared a family
of eight children, of whom James is the fifth
in order of birth.
Having acquired his elementary education in
the public schools Dr. McGillicuddy continued
his studies and was graduated at the high
school of Watford, Ontario, and in the West-
ern University, at London, Ontario, where he
remained for two years. He afterward spent
two years in the Detroit College of Medicine
and was graduated with the class of 1898. In
June of the same year he located for practice
at Shepardsville, where he has since remained
in the active work of the profession with a large
and growing patronage. He is a member of
the Clinton County Medical Society, the Michi-
gan State Medical Society and the American
Medical Association, and keeps in touch with
the advanced thought of the profession as re-
search and investigation are carried forward
and added truths promote the efficiency of the
medical fraternity.
On the 4th of April, 1899, Dr. McGil-
licuddy was married to Miss Elizabeth Wiley,,
a daughter of Duncan Wiley, of Strathroy,
Ontario, and they have one son, Oliver B. Dr.
McGillicuddy belongs to the Masonic fraternity
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
at Ovid, having been made a Mason in 1893,
and he also holds membership relations with
the Maccabees. He has the personal qualities
that render him popular and a professional
skill that has gained him prominence as a mem-
ber of the medical fraternity and in his chosen
life work he is making satisfactory and credit-
able advancement.
WILLIAM F. POTTER.
William F. Potter, devoting his attention to
general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising
on section 28, Victor township, has one hun-
dred acres of land that constitutes a good farm.
His residence in the county covers a period of
more than a quarter of a century and he has
lived in Michigan since 1867. He was born
in the town of Butler, Wayne county, New
York, January 23, 1832. His father, Byron
Potter, was a native of New Jersey and when
a young man removed to the Empire state,
where he formed the acquaintance of Abigail
Lewis, whom he married. She was born in
that state and the young couple began their
domestic life in Wayne county, where Mr. Pot-
ter devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits.
He was, however, a shoemaker by trade and fol-
lowed that calling in early life.
William F. Potter spent the days of his boy-
hood and youth on the old homestead farm in
Wayne county, acquiring his education in the
common schools and gaining an intimate knowl-
edge of the best methods of tilling the soil and
caring for the crops. He was married when
twenty years of age to Miss Martha Ann Cook,
a native of Wayne county, New York, and
thinking that he might have better business op-
portunities in the middle west he came to Michi-
gan, locating on the state line in Lenawee
county. There he rented a tract of land and
engaged in farming for a few years but later
took up his abode in Shiawassee county, where
he owned and operated a farm, there raising
one crop. He then leased the Dean farm for
six years and subsequently removed to Laings-
burg, where he resided for two years. Later he
bought one hundred acres in Watertown town-
ship but subsequently sold that and purchased
an improved farm of one hundred and forty
acres on section 28, Victor township, where he
now resides. He at once began the further de-
velopment of this property and in its manage-
ment has shown thorough familiarity with the
best methods of cultivating the soil and rais-
ing stock. For several years, however, he has
largely rented his land, which relieves him of
much of the care and labor that developed upon
him in connection with the cultivation of his
farm.
At the time of the Civil war Mr. Potter
manifested his loyalty to the government by
enlisting at Hudson, Branch county, in August,
1862. He joined Battery I and went south
with the Flying Artillery. He participated in
many engagements, including the battle at
White Plains, Arkansas, and the very hotly
contested engagement at Gettysburg. Later he
was sent to the hospital for four months but sub-
sequently rejoined General Joe Hooker's com-
mand and was in the battles of Lookout
Mountain and Missionary Ridge. For four
months the trops were under fire during almost
every hour out of the twenty-four in the At-
lanta campaign and after the capitulation of
that city Mr. Potter returned with his command
to Chattanooga, where the battery was recruited,
and later went to Nashville, where occurred the
last battle in which he took part. He served,
however, until the close of the war when he
was honorably discharged and mustered out at
Detroit in August, 1865. His military record
was a* creditable one for he never faltered in
the performance of any duty.
Mr. Potter lost his first wife while living
in Laingsburg, and in Shiawassee county on
the 9th of December, 1894, he was married to
Mrs. Lovisa Ann Kyte, nee Wallace, a native
of Canada, and a daughter of Timothy Wal-
lace. By her former marriage Mrs. Potter had
five children: Ella L., the wife of Cyrus A.
Coles, of Shiawassee county; Arthur E., now
in the state of Wyoming; Walter W., of Shia-
wassee county ; William, also of Wyoming ; and
James Gordon, of South Omaha.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
261
Mr. Potter was deeply interested in the
questions which gave rise to the new republi-
can party and cast his ballot for John C. Fre-
mont as its first presidential candidate. He has
never faltered in his allegiance to the support
of that party from that time until the present
but has been without political aspiration for
himself. He became a member of Laingsburg
lodge, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all of
the chairs and is a past grand, while he and his
wife are prominent members of the Rebekah
lodge. His acquaintance in this part of the
state is extensive and the position which he
holds in public regard is enviable. He has
lived a useful life, has fought for the old flag
and the Union, and is one of the few surviv-
ing soldiers, for the ranks of the army are be-
ing fast disseminated.
E. A. CLISE.
In his farm work E. A. Clise has prospered
and has also conducted a successful business as
a contractor and builder of Clinton county.
He now owns and operates one hundred and
forty acres of land on section 8, Bath township,
and the value of the property makes him a sub-
stantial resident of the community. A half
century has passed since he came to Michigan
and during thirty-seven years he has lived in
Clinton county. His birth occurred in the
town of Phelps, Ontario county, New York,
on the 7th of November, 1854, his parents
being Frederick and Marguerite (Gordon)
Clise. The father was born in Ontario county,
New York, where he was reared to manhood
and was married. In 1855 he removed to
Michigan, settling first in Lenawee county,
where he resided for a few years and subse-
quently took up his abode in Isabella county.
There he also lived for a few years, working
in the forests, and in 1868 he came to Clinton
county, purchasing and locating upon the farm
where his son E. A. Clise now resides. He
cut down the trees, cleared away the brush,
grubbed out the stumps, sowed his seed and in
due course of time gathered rich harvests, con-
tinuing to make his home upon the farm until
in old age, when he removed to the village of
Bath, where he died in 1904, when almost
ninety years of age. His wife had passed away
in 1899. They were the parents of twelve
children, six sons and six daughters. Two of
the sons died while serving their country in
the war of the Rebellion and one died in Gal-
veston, Texas, while a daughter has also passed
away. The others are still living.
E. A. Clise, brought to Michigan when only
a year old, was largely reared in Clinton county
and pursued his education in the district schools.
He remained with his father through his
minority and was afterward engaged for two
years on the construction of the Texas Railroad
with the department of bridge building. Later
he returned home and here followed carpenter-
ing, having learned the trade in early life. He
has carried on business as a contractor and
builder for twenty-five or thirty years, build-
ing, various houses and barns throughout the
county. He also succeeded to the old home
place, whereon he has erected a go6d residence,
two barns, a granary and other buildings. His
farm is supplied with modern equipments, in-
cluding the latest improved machinery, and
everything about the place indicates the careful
supervision of a progressive owner, whose
methods are practical, so that sure and satis-
factory results follow.
In November, 1876, Mr. Clise was married
to Miss Emma C. Batchelder, who was born
in Bath township and is a daughter of S.
Batchelder, one of the early settlers of Clinton
county, who came from New York. There are
three children of this marriage: Watt L., a
mail carrier of St. Johns, who is married; B.
B., who is a sophomore in the Agricultural Col-
lege, at Lansing ; and Zella, a stenographer and
typewriter employed in Ann Arbor.
For two terms Mr. Clise has served as high-
way commissioner, elected on the democratic
ticket. He is numbered among the old set-
tlers of the county and has done much for its
improvement and development, contributing in
substantial measure to the work of progress
here. Many of the residences and barns of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
the county show his handiwork, which is also
displayed in the well tilled fields and the fine
appearance of his farm.
CYRUS SHERMAN.
Cyrus Sherman, now living a retired life in
Ovid, Clinton county, Michigan, has through
well directed activity and enterprise in busi-
ness achieved success and at the same time has
attained to high honors in political service,
representing his district in the state legislature
and filling other offices, wherein he has demon-
strated his loyalty to the public good. More-
over, he has made a creditable military record
and thus his life in its varied relations has
commended him to the confidence and respect
of his fellowmen.
A native of Onondaga county, New York,
Mr. Sherman was born on the 30th of Sep-
tember, 1 84 1, his parents being Leonard and
Anna (Whitford) Sherman. The father was
a native of Isle Lamotte, Vermont, while the
mother was born at Crown Point in Essex
county, New York. His natal day was Janu-
ary 27, 1805, and he departed this life No-
vember 8, 1858, while his wife, who was born
March 24, 1804, died March 26, 1876. In
their family were twelve children, of whom
Cyrus was the ninth in order of birth, and
those still living are George, Leonard, Melvin,
Henry, Ann Eliza, Cyrus and Silas T. The
surviving daughter is the wife of E. D. Horton.
When thirteen years of age Cyrus Sherman
accompanied his parents on their removal to
Wisconsin and soon afterward he began earn-
ing his own living by working as a farm hand
by the month. His educational privileges up
to that time were limited and desirous of ac-
quiring broader knowledge as a better prepar-
ation for his life's work, he entered Hillsdale
College, of Hillsdale, Michigan, in the spring
of i860, meeting the expenses of the course
through his own labor. In December, 1861,
however, he left college in order to join the
army, responding to the country's call for aid
by enlisting as a member of Company C,
Eleventh Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He
took part in fifteen hard fought battles, includ-
ing the siege of Atlanta and the raid in Ala-
bama after Morgan's guerillas. He was with
General Harrison when he won his star at
Peach Tree Creek. Being taken a prisoner he
was incarcerated for a time in Libby prison but
when exchanged at once rejoined his regiment
and was mustered out at Chattanooga, Ten-
nessee, as orderly sergeant, December 9, 1864.
His military record was a creditable one be-
cause throughout the period of his connection
with the army he was always found at his post
of duty whether it called him to the lonely
picket line or to the firing line.
In December, 1865, Mr. Sherman took up
his abode in Ovid township, settling upon a
new farm. The land was wild and unimproved
and he had to clear it before he could plant the
crops and carry forward the work of cultiva-
tion. This arduous task he capably performed,
his labors being characterized by unremitting
diligence and persistency of purpose and in the
course of years as the result of his active work
on the farm he became the possessor of a very
gratifying competence. During this period he
was also called to public office in recognition of
his fidelity to his party and his capability for
the duties of the various offices that were con-
ferred upon him. He served at different times
as highway commissioner, treasurer and su-
pervisor. He was elected to the last mentioned
office in 1889 by a majority of two hundred
and -forty and in 1900 he was re-elected. He
was elected to represent Clinton county in the
state legislature as the republican candidate in
1888-9 and proved an able working member of
the general assembly.
On the 27th of September, 1865, Mr. Sher-
man was united in marriage to Miss Cyrene
M. Adams, a daughter of James and Mary
(Hazen) Adams, the former a native of Mas-
sachusetts and the latter of New York. Com-
ing to Michigan they settled in Lenawee county,
where they were married. The father died in
Litchfield, Hillsdale county, when forty years
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MRS. CYRUS SHERMAN.
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CYRUS SHERMAN.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
267
of age, and his wife passed away in Ovid, at
the age of sixty-four years. In 1900 Mr. and
Mrs. Sherman took up their abode in Ovid,
where he is now living a retired life, his former
labors supplying him with all the comforts and
many of the luxuries that go to make life worth
living. They adopted and reared two children,
the daughter being Cora Blackner, whom they
took at the age of three years. She is now the
wife of E. A. Fox, a druggist of Central Lake,
Michigan, formerly of Elsie, and they have two
children, Homer S. and Muriel R. The
adopted son was James C. V., who lived with
them from the age of six until his death at the
age of twenty-two years.
Mr. Sherman belongs to George A. Winans
post, G. A. R., of which he is now post com-
mander, and he has also been the vice presi-
dent of the Michigan Association of Ex-
Prisoners of War. He is a man of generous
impulses and kindly spirit. He devotes much
of his time now to fishing and to the enjoy-
ment of other outings with his friends, and his
rest and pleasure are richly deserved because
of his honorable activity in former years.
NEWELL PARKER.
Newell Parker, who has a farm on section
14, Victor township, comprising one hundred
and sixty-seven acres of land, is a native son
of the county, his birth having occurred in the
township where he yet resides on the 3d of
July, i860. He is a son of John Parker and
a brother of Epson Parker, who is mentioned
elsewhere in this work and in whose history
is given the record of the parents. Newell
Parker was reared in the usual manner of farm
lads, working in the fields through the summer
months and in the winter seasons attending the
public schools, wherein he acquired a good
practical education. He remained with his
mother until he had attained his majority and
succeeded to a part of the old homestead, after
which he cleared his land, built a home and
opened up a farm. He now has a splendidly
improved property in the midst of which stands
a modern residence built of brick and two
stories in height. There are also two good
barns upon the place, a windpump and other
modern equipments. He has likewise planted
an orchard and made the farm what it is to-
day— one of the best improved properties of the
locality. The fields are entirely clear of
stumps and rocks and there are over two miles
of Page wire fencing on the place. In the
pastures are seen good grades of stock for he
makes a specialty of raising Shorthorn cattle.
He is an excellent judge of stock and there-
fore makes judicious purchases and profitable
sales. In everything that he does he is emi-
nently practical and his methods have been
attended with a gratifying measure of pros-
perity.
Mr. Parker was married, in Victor town-
ship, January 3, 1883, to Miss Carrie H.
Beech, who was born in White Oak, Michigan,
and is a daughter of John Beech, one of the
early settlers of Clinton county, mentioned
elsewhere in this work, his home being on sec-
tion 36, Victor township. Mrs. Parker was
reared and educated in this part of the county
and by her marriage has become the mother of
four children but they lost one, Ralph, who
died in infancy. Those still living are John
Rae, Edwinna and Arthur Newell, all at home.
Politically independent Mr. Parker votes for
men and measures rather than party. He was
elected and served for one term as justice of
the peace but has never desired public office.
He and his wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which Mr. Parker is serv-
ing as a trustee, wrhile for some years he has
been superintendent of the Sunday-school, tak-
ing an active and helpful part in both the
church and Sunday-school work. He belongs
to the Masonic fraternity of Laingsburg, and
both he and his wife are members of the East-
ern Star and also of the local Grange. He is
a thorough and painstaking farmer, keeping his
place in excellent condition and in business
affairs displays keen sagacity and unfaltering
enterprise. Through his well directed efforts
he has achieved success and moreover he is a
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
worthy representative of one of the pioneer
families of the county, while at all times he
has done his full share toward promoting the
material and moral progress of the community.
SAMUEL BARRETT.
Samuel Barrett, living on section 28, Victor
township, is one of the substantial farmers of
Clinton county, owning five hundred acres of
valuable land which is the visible evidence of
his life of thrift and industry. He has for
more than forty years lived within the borders
of Clinton county, witnessing its growth and
development, while Michigan has been the place
of his residence since 185 1. A native of Ire-
land, he was born in County Cavan, July 27,
1841, his parents being John and Fannie (Por-
ter) Barrett, both of whom were reared and
educated in Ireland. The father followed the
occupation of farming in that country and there
the ten children of the family were born. Mrs.
Barrett and her children came to the new world
in 1844, landing at New York city, and for
several years they resided in Brooklyn. Mr.
Barrett disposed of his business interests in Ire-
land before joining the family in Brooklyn, but
believing that the west would afford better busi-
ness opportunities he came to Michigan in 185 1,
settling on a farm in the town of Commerce,
Oakland county. The following year he bought
a farm in the town of White Lake and thereon
spent his remaining days, his death occurring
about 1859. His wife survived him for a
number of years and died in that locality.
Samuel Barrett was reared to manhood in
Oakland county and received common-school
advantages but when thirteen years of age
started out in life on his own account. He has
since bfeen dependent entirely upon his own re-
sources, so that whatever success he has
achieved and enjoyed is the direct result of his
earnest labor. He worked for seven years by
the month as a farm hand and drove a team of
five yoke of oxen to a breaking plow, thus turn-
ing the sod upon many an uncultivated tract of
prairie. It was an arduous task but was faith-
fully performed by him and thus he gained his
start in life.
Mr. Barrett was married in Oakland county,
Michigan, on the 25th of March, 1863, to Miss
Sarah Sexton, a native of Illinois and a sister
of Zephaniah and Job W. Sexton, who are men-
tioned elsewhere in this work. After their mar-
riage Mr. and Mrs. Barrett began their do-
mestic life on a farm in Victor township. The
original homestead comprised eighty acres,
which he cultivated and improved, making it a
productive tract by the care and labor he be-
stowed on the fields. From time to time he
bought more land until he owned a tract of
over three hundred acres but later he sold that
property and purchased his present home, first
becoming the owner of two hundred and forty-
eight acres. He has since, however, purchased
a number of other tracts in Victor township
and now owns about five hundred acres in the
home place, constituting a productive and valu-
able farm. It is lacking in none of the modern
equipments and accessories which indicate the
careful supervision of a painstaking owner. He
has erected a good residence, also a large and
substantial basement barn, granary and other
outbuildings. The place is now very attractive
in its appearance and its value has appreciated
through the labor he has bestowed upon the
fields. He has made a business of raising good
graded stock and keeps a thoroughbred Clydes-
dale horse for breeding purposes. He also buys
and ships horses and is a business man of con-
siderable discernment and enterprise.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Barrett have been born
nine children: Julia, born January 21, 1864, is
the wife of Alda Watkins, of Morrice; Nora,
born February 17, 1866, is the wife of Loren
Watkins, of Perry, Michigan; Anna, born June
28, 1868, is the wife of Fred Skarrett, of Victor
township; William, born February 11, 1870, is
married and is engaged in business in Perry,
this state ; Zephaniah Sexton Barrett, born May
3, 1872, assists his father in carrying on the
home farm; Sadie, born July 14, 1875, occupies
a business position in Perry; Maud, born De-
cember 28, 1877, is ^e wife of Wing Waters,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
269
a farmer of the town of Perry; Lou, born
August 28, 1879, is in Morrice, Michigan; and
Millie, born January 26, 1881, is the wife of
John Alcott, a business man of Perry.
Since age gave him the right of franchise
Mr. Barrett has never wavered in his allegiance
to the democracy but while he keeps well in-
formed on the questions and issues of the day
he has never sought or desired office. He and
his wife are members of the United Brethren
church, and for about twenty years he has been
a member of the Odd Fellows society of
Laingsburg. He likewise belongs to the Grange
and was its chaplain for a number of years.
He is one of Clinton county's prominent and
prosperous farmers and a successful stock raiser
and dealer.
JOSEPH HESS.
Joseph Hess, residing on section 6, Duplain
township, where he is giving his time and at-
tention to general agricultural pursuits, has re-
sided upon this farm of eighty acres since the
5th of October, 1875. He is a native of Ohio,
his birth having occurred in Knox county, on
the 2d of September, 1838. His father, John
Hess, was born in Pennsylvania in 1803 and
before leaving his native state was married.
His first wife died in Pennsylvania, leaving one
child, and he afterward removed to Knox
county, Ohio, where he married again, Miss
Catherine Beech, a native of the Keystone
state, becoming his wife. Mr. Hess devoted
his time and energies to farming in Knox
county and there reared his family of twelve
children. He was one of the worthy and re-
spected citizens of the community and he at-
tained to a ripe old age, passing away in 1885,
while his second wife died about 1877. Their
children were Joseph, George, Joshua, Mrs.
Maria Greenwood, Sarah, Sophia and Mary.
There is also a half-brother, Michael Hess.
Joseph Hess was reared in the state of his
nativity, spending his boyhood and youth upon
the home farm and on attaining his majority he
started out upon an active business venture,
working by the month as a farm hand for
thirteen dollars per month. He considered it
good pay at that time. He was employed for
nine years in a linseed oil mill and thus largely
made advancement in the businesss world,
largely saving his earnings until his capital
made possible the purchase of a farm.
On the nth of December, 1873, in Knox
county, Mr. Hess was united in marriage to
Miss * Amanda Myers, who was born and
reared in that county. In 1874 he came to
Michigan and purchased his present farm, of
which nine acres had been cleared and a log
cabin built thereon. He located on this prop-
erty in 1875 and at once began to clear the
land and fence and improve the place. He now
has about seventy acres under the plow and
this is divided into well kept fields all cleared
of stumps. He built a good residence and barn
and in fact has added all modern equipments
to his place, which in its neat and attractive ap-
pearance indicates in unmistakable way the
enterprise and careful management of the
owner, who is now profitably conducting his
farm interests. He also raises stock and both
branches of his business are returning him a
good income.
Mr. and Mrs. Hess have three living chil-
dren : Stella, the wife of Charles Galehouse, a
mechanic of Isabella county. Michigan; Ger-
trude, the wife of William Wright, a farmer
of Duplain township; and Minnie E., the wife
of Virgil Wright, who is living upon her
father's farm. They also lost two children,
Arthur and Henry, who died at the ages of
eight and seven years respectively within three
days of each other, the disease being diph-
theria. Mr. Hess and his family are members
of the Evangelical church and he affiliates with
Eureka lodge, I. O. O. F. Politically, how-
ever, he is independent, voting for the best
men regardless of party allegiance. He has
served as drain commissioner for two years but
has never been active as an office seeker, find-
ing that his farming interests fully claim his
time and attention. In all of his work he is
eminently practical and is making steady prog-
ress toward the goal of prosperity, being
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
already in possession of a desirable compe-
tence that has come to him entirely through
his earnest labor.
WILLIAM CHAPLIN.
William Chaplin, the secret of whose suc-
cess is found in earnest, self-denying labor, now
owns a good farm of one hundred and twenty
acres on sections 19 and 30, Watertown town-
ship, and lives retired in Wacousta. He is a
native of England, where he remained until
twenty years of age. His birth occurred on
the 25th of February, 1835, his parents being
Charles and Sarah (Cotterel) Chaplin, who al-
ways remained residents of the mother country.
William Chaplin was only three years old when
his mother died. He spent the days of his boy-
hood and youth in his native land and is the
only one of the family that ever came to Amer-
ica. In T855 he crossed the Atlantic and for
eight years was a resident of the state of New
York, during which time he was employed by
the month as a farm hand. He then came to
Clinton county, Michigan, and settled on eighty
acres of wild land on section 19, Watertown
township. He then began farming on his own
account and lived on his original property until
1896, when he removed to Wacousta, where he
is now living a retired life, enjoying in well
earned ease the fruits of his former toil. Hard
work has been the basis of his success and as the
years have gone by he has so directed his
efforts that he is now one of the substantial citi-
zens of the community. He had little oppor-
tunity for acquiring an education and thus with-
out the advantage of superior mental training
or pecuniary assistance he has worked his way
steadily upward.
Mr. Chaplin was married in 1864 to Miss
Elizabeth Warboys, a daughter of Thomas
Warboys, of England, who on coming to
America settled first in New York and then
removed to Michigan. Six children have been
born of this union: Emma, now the wife of
Henry Brown and a resident of Grand Ledge,
Michigan; Louisa, the wife of Oscar Garlock,
of Oneida towTnship, Eaton county; Esther, the
wife of Loren Dayton, of Watertown town-
ship; John T., of Oneida township, Eaton
county; Charles, who is living in Watertown
township; and Henry C, also of Oneida town-
ship. The wife and mother died in 1898, at
the age of sixty-seven years, and in December,
1899, Mr. Chaplin was again married, his sec-
ond union being with Mary J. Fales, of Van
Buren county, Michigan, a daughter of Philip
R. Weaver, of Newark, Wayne county, New
York. Her father was a boot and shoe dealer
in early manhood and afterward engaged in
farming until his death, which occurred in
1878, when he was sixty-one years of age. His
wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth
Knapp, lived to the age of fifty-three years.
Mrs. Chaplin, their only daughter, was edu-
cated in the Ladies' Seminary, at Newark, New
York, and received a good musical education in
Sherwood's Musical Academy, at Lyons, that
state. She comes of a family of musicians and
is a lady of superior culture and refinement.
She still keeps in touch with musical progress,
has successfully engaged in teaching music and
has played before large assemblages, being a
valued factor in musical circles in this part of
the state.
Mr. Chaplin has served in some minor offices
such as school director and overseer of high-
ways but has preferred to give his undivided at-
tention to his business affairs and as the years
have gone by has so directed his labors that his
efforts have been crowned with prosperity. His
life has been honorable, his actions manly and
sincere and to-day he is numbered among the
representative citizens of Clinton county.
WILLARD KING.
Willard King, who for many years has been
connected with agricultural pursuits in Clinton
county, and in earlier years took an active and
helpful part in the work of substantial im-
provement and development in this section of
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MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM CHAPLIN.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
273
the state, was born January 8, 182 1, in Monroe
county, New York. In the paternal line he
comes from an old Massachusetts family. His
parents were David and Electa (McKee)
King, both natives of Otsego, New York,
where they spent their entire lives. The Mc-
Kee family came originally from Connecticut.
Mr. and Mrs. King had six children, of whom
four are living : Loren, a resident of Lockport,
New York; Willard, of this review; Mary, the
wife of Daniel Maynard, of Kenosha, Wiscon-
sin; and George E., who is living in Water-
town township.
Willard King spent the days of his boyhood
and youth in the state of his nativity but at-
tracted by the possibilities of the great and
growing west he came to Michigan in 1845,
making the journey by way of the lakes to De-
troit and thence walking to Watertown town-
ship. After purchasing forty acres of land he
returned to New York, and in 1847 ne was
married and took up his abode permanently in
this county. He located first in Eagle town-
ship and afterward bought one hundred acres
on section 22, Watertown township, where he
now resides. It was then in the midst of an
unbroken wilderness and Lansing was his
nearest trading point, while his mail was se-
cured at Jenison postoffice in Eagle township.
He has resided continuously upon the farm
with the exception of five years spent in Lan-
sing, three years of which time he had charge
of the reform school, while for two years he
was engaged in merchandising. His labors
wrought a wonderful transformation in this
place as he cut down the timber, cleared the
fields and brought the land to a high state of
cultivation. His original home was a log cabin
which in pioneer times was destroyed by fire,
the family barely escaping with their lives.
Mr. King did not allow this loss to discourage
him but with renewed courage and energy set
to work to provide another home for his fam-
ily and as the years have gone by he has in an
active business career overcome all the diffi-
culties and obstacles that have barred his path
to success, so that now in the evening of life
he is possessed of a handsome competence that
supplies him with the comforts and many of
the luxuries that go to make life worth the
living. In 1885 he erected a modern house of
brick and he has also built good barns on his
place. In fact it is a well equipped property
and in its thrifty appearance gives every indi-
cation of the careful supervision of the owner.
Mr. King is a representative of the sturdy
pioneer stock of Clinton county and feels just
pride in the growth and development of his
locality and township through these years.
Marvelous have been the changes that have
been wrought for the county is to-day pro-
vided with splendid railroad, telegraph and
telephone facilities, with rural free delivery
and with all the modern equipments and con-
veniences known to the older east. He was in-
strumental in laying out many roads in an
early day and took an active and helpful part
in township affairs, being always found on the
side of progress and improvement.
In 1846 Mr. King was united in marriage to
Miss Edna Lowell, a daughter of a Mr. Lowell,
of Orleans county, New York, who came to
Clinton county and located near the home of
Mr. King, spending his remaining days here.
Unto our subject and his wife have been born
three' children : Benjamin F., the eldest, living
in Watertown township, married Miss Sarah
Hammel, a daughter of the late B. F. Ham-
mel, of Watertown township. He owns a
farm known as the Lovell property besides the
one upon which our subject now resides.
Frances become the wife of R. N. Lee, of
Watertown. H. Meloa has for seventeen years
been a teacher in the district and high schools.
In politics Mr. King has been a stanch re-
publican since casting his first presidential bal-
lot for John C. Fremont. He has served as
highway commissioner, also as deputy sheriff
of Clinton county for four years under Sheriff
McDonald. He served on the jury in Clinton
county when court was held at Dewitt and his
name is inseparably interwoven with many of
the early events of the county that find men-
tion in the annals of this part of the state. For
almost sixty years he has owned his present
farm and it has become a valuable property,
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274
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
owing to the care and labor he has bestowed
upon it. Moreover he has done his full share
in promoting the work of public progress and
improvement. He has now passed the eighty-
fourth milestone on life's journey and receives
the veneration and respect which should ever
be accorded one of his years for his life record
has at all times been honorable and upright.
EPSON PARKER.
The student of history can not carry his in-
vestigation far into the records of Clinton
county without learning of the close and valu-
able connection of the Parker family in promot-
ing the progress and upbuilding of Victor
township and this section of the state. Epson
Parker of this review was reared on the old
farm homestead on section 14, Victor town-
ship, and few residents of the county have so
long resided within its borders for he dates his
residence in the county since June, 1837, having
been brought to Michigan in his infancy. He
was born in Seneca county, New York, April
18, 1836, and is a son of John Parker, who was
a native of New Jersey, born in 1803. The
grandfather, Jonathan Parker, was likewise a
native of New Jersey, and the family is of Eng-
lish lineage, the first ancestors in America hav-
ing settled in New Jersey at an early period in
its colonization.
John Parker removed from his native state
to New York with his mother and the family
and was reared to manhood in Seneca county.
There, after arriving at years of maturity, he
wedded Sarah Cronkite, who was a native of
that county and came of German lineage. He
followed farming in Seneca county for some
years and in 1837 he removed westward to
Michigan, being among the first settlers of Vic-
tor township, Clinton county. His first pur-
chase of land covered eighty acres, which he
bought from William Swarthout, who came
with the Parkers from New York. John
Parker cleared and fenced his place, erected
buildings there and opened up a farm, and tak-
ing advantage of existing business conditions
and making the most of his opportunities as the
years passed by he became an extensive land-
owner, having several hundred acres. He was
one of the prosperous and well-to-do agricul-
turists of Clinton county and his labors were
not only of value to himself but proved a help-
ful element in the reclamation of this district
for the use of civilization. His death occurred
here July 4, 1863, when he was sixty years of
age. His wife survived him for a number of
years and passed away in 1902, at the ripe old
age of nearly eighty-seven years. At the death
of her husband Mrs. Parker took charge of the
farms and the business. She possessed superior
business qualifications and energy, paid off all
indebtedness and carried on the work of im-
provement, thus greatly enhancing the value
of his property. She was well known through-
out Clinton and adjoining counties for her ex-
cellent business ability as well as for her many
womanly qualities that endeared her to all who
knew her.
Epson Parker was brought to Michigan
during his infancy and was reared upon the
old homestead in Victor township, being the
eldest son of the family. He assisted his father
to clear and improve the farm and remained
under the parental roof until he had attained
his majority. He early became familiar with
the arduous task of developing new land so
that he thoroughly understood what he was un-
dertaking when he began to clear and cultivate
a farm of his own. He commenced with one
hundred and twenty acres situated in the midst
of a large forest tract and the sound of the
woodman's ax soon indicated that the monarchs
of the forest were falling before his sturdy
strokes. Thus acre after acre was cleared and
when the brush had been burned and the stumps
taken out he plowed his land and fenced the
fields, thus opening up an excellent farm. He
began life there in a small frame house but as
the years passed by and prosperity attended his
efforts he built a large, commodious and at-
tractive residence. He also built two good
barns on the place and not only planted orchards
but also set out shade and ornamental trees.
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MRS. EPSON PARKER.
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EPSON PARKER.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
279
He bought and had at one time over three hun-
dred acres of land but has since given some of
this to his children although he still retains the
ownership of one hundred and eighty acres. In
connection with general farming he has car-
ried on stock-raising, making a specialty of the
breeding of Percheron horses for thirty years.
He is well known as a dealer in this kind of
stock throughout his part of the state and has
owned many fine animals which he has sold for
good prices.
In Victor township, on the 24th of January,
1859, occurred the marriage of Epson Parker
and Miss Julia A. Cotes, a native of the state
of New York and a daughter of David S.
Cotes, who was one of the early settlers of
Clinton county. Mrs. Parker came to Michi-
gan with her parents when a child and was
reared and educated in Clinton county. Seven
children have been born of this marriage, the
eldest being Rev. Ai. W. Parker, who is a
minister of the United Brethren church, now
located at Charlotte, Michigan. Jesse F. and
Emery L. ar>e following farming in Victor
township. Emma is the wife of John Kemp,
an agriculturist of the same township. Nellie
is the wife of Milo J. Crane, a farmer of Vic-
tor township, and J. D. is likewise a farmer of
Victor township. The sons and son-in-law all
own good and well equipped farms. Mr. and
Mrs. Parker lost their youngest child, R. D.
Parker, who died at the age of eight months.
Politically Mr. Parker has been a lifelong
republican, casting his first presidential ballot
for John C. Fremont in 1856. He has voted
for each nominee of the party and is in thor-
ough sympathy with its principles but has never
cared for or desired office for himself. He was,
however, elected and served as commissioner
of highways, filling the office for a number of
years, and for some years he was a member of
the school board, the cause of education find-
ing in him a warm and helpful friend. He is
regarded as the oldest resident of Clinton
county in years of continuous connection with
this section of the state for his home has been
in Victor township for sixty-eight years. Great
changes have occurred and he has witnessed
18
the wonderful transformation and growth of
this section of the state until the county to-day
bears a little resemblance to the district to
which he was brought in his infancy. Where
are now seen waving fields of grain once stood
the native forest and along other lines of im-
provement progress has been carried forward
until the residents of Clinton county have every
reason to be proud of her advantages, for it
has become inhabited by a prosperous people
who have secured to themselves all the ad-
vantages of the older east. Epson Parker as a
pioneer citizen well deserves mention in this
volume and in fact no history of this county
would be complete without the record of his
life.
HARRY D. SQUAIR, M. D.
Among the younger members of the med-
ical fraternity in St. Johns is Dr. Harry D.
Squair, who was born in Bowmanville, On-
tario, on the 7th of March, 1874, his parents
being Francis M. and Delilah (Giffon) Squair,
who were likewise natives of Ontario, whence
they came to St. Johns in 1882. The father
was for a number of years active in commer-
cial circles here, conducting a mercantile en-
terprise, but is now retired. He is descended
from Scotch ancestry, while the Giffons were
originally of German descent, representatives
of the name emigrating from the fatherland to
Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Squair have had one
daughter, Minnie, now the wife of Fred E.
Swain, of Bingham township, Clinton county.
Dr. Squair, the only son, was a student in
the public and high schools of St. Johns prior to
his preparation for the profession which he
chose as a life work. He pursued his medical
course in the Michigan College of Medicine
and Surgery at Detroit, in which he was grad-
uated with the class of 1897, and the same
year he located for practice in this city, where
he has since remained. That he has retained
his residence here for eight years is an indica-
tion that he has enjoyed a paying business.
He was elected health officer of St. Johns in
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
1898 and yet continues in that office, while in
his private practice he is meeting with merited
success.
Dr. Squair exercises his right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the
republican party and is a valued representa-
tive of various civic societies, including the
Knights of Pythias and Masonic fraternities,
the Maccabees tent and the Modern Wood-
men camp, all of St. Johns. He was happily
married October 10, 1900, to Miss Marie Ol-
cott, a daughter of the late Charles Olcott, of
Port Henry, New York, who prior to her
marriage was a capable teacher in the public
schools of St. Johns, her native culture and re-
finement entitling her to the desirable position
which is accorded her in social circles of this
city.
WILLIAM KEMP.
William Kemp, living on section 18, Leba-
non township, is a well known representative
of agricultural interests in this part of the
state. His farm work makes heavy demands
upon his time and his business ability is dem-
onstrated by the success which attends him in
the operation of his home farm of one hun-
dred and one acres and also in the cultiva-
tion of another farm of eighty acres on
section 5, Lebanon township. Born in Ross
township, Kalamazoo county, Michigan, on the
18th of February, 1844, he is a son of Alfred
Kemp, a native of England. The paternal
grandfather, George Kemp, emigrated with
his family to the new world and settled at Gen-
esee Flats in the state of New York. The son
Alfred was then a lad of thirteen years and he
was reared in Genesee county, where he re-
mained until he came to Michigan, settling in
Kalamazoo county. He entered and traded
for several sections of land which he cleared
and transformed into a good farm and after-
ward gave eighty acres of land to each of his
sons. He was married in Kalamazoo county
to Miss Mary Jones, a native of Pennsylvania,
who was reared in Michigan. Mr. Kemp later
sold his property there and removed to Clinton
county, where he purchased a place on which
was a small house but few other improve-
ments. He began to clear and develop that
farm and carried on agricultural pursuits for a
number of years, but eventually removed to
Greenville, where his last days were passed. He
died there about 1900. His wife still survives
him and yet resides in Greenville. In their
family were four sons and four daughters, of
whom four are yet living, namely : William, of
this review; Frederick, a resident of Brown
county, South Dakota; Oliver, who makes his
home in Chicago; and Ernest, who is living
in Greenville, Michigan.
No event of special importance occurred to
vary the routine of farm life for William
Kemp in his boyhood days. His youth was
passed in Clinton and Kalamazoo counties and
he aided in clearing and developing the farm
whereon he now resides. Much arduous toil
was required to accomplish the task and he
gained therefrom the experience that enables
him now to carefully conduct his farming in-
terests and gain thereby the prosperity which
is the goal of all business endeavor. In De-
cember, 1862, he joined the Seventh Michigan
Cavalry as a private and participated in about
thirty battles of the Civil war, including the
engagements at Cedar Creek, Cold Harbor,
Winchester and the Wilderness. He sustained
some slight wounds and was ill in the hospital
for a short time. He served until after the
close of the war and then went across the
plains to aid in the subjugation of the Indians.
There in the far west the troops were mus-
tered out and no transportation was furnished
them, although they were fifteen hundred miles
from home. Mr. Kemp then returned to
Jackson, Michigan, and was honorably dis-
charged in the fall of 1865.
On reaching home he took up the work of
the farm and later purchased a tract of land in
Kalamazoo county, where he carried on gen-
eral agricultural pursuits for a few years. He
then sold out and located on the old home-
stead, where he has erected a good residence
and granary. He has also fenced the place and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
283
carried on the work of improving his farm
along modern lines until he now has a well de-
veloped and valuable property.
On the 22d of September, 1874, in Lebanon
township, Mr. Kemp was united in marriage
to Miss Clara E. Tyler, who was born and
reared in New York. In the family were four
children, but two died of diphtheria, William
J. and Grace, aged nine and seven years re-
spectively. They passed away within a few
days of each other. Mary E., the eldest mem-
ber of the family, is now the wife of Frederick
Brayton, of Ionia county, Michigan, and
Ernest is assisting in carrying on the home
farm.
Politically Mr. Kemp has been a lifelong
republican, never faltering in his allegiance to
the party since casting his first presidential
ballot for Abraham Lincoln while serving in
the Union army. He is a Master Mason of
Hubbardston lodge and also belongs to the
Grand Army Post at that place, while his wife
holds membership in the Woman's Relief
Corps there. His entire life has been passed
in Michigan and for nearly fifty years he has
lived in Clinton county, so that he is one of the
early settlers as well as one of the honored few
remaining veterans of the Civil war. A man
of integrity and worth he enjoys the good will
and confidence of those who know him and the
circle of his friends has constantly broadened
as the circle of his acquaintance has been in-
creased.
JOHN B. DODGE, M. D.
Dr. John B. Dodge, practicing along mod-
ern scientific lines in St. Johns, was born in
Windsor, Dane county, Wisconsin, March 22,
1858, a son of Nathan and Mary (Carpenter)
Dodge, the former a native of New York and
the latter of Ohio. After their marriage they
settled in Wisconsin, where the father, who
was a mechanic, carried on business for a time
but removed to Ohio when the Doctor was
eight years of age and was engaged in business
at Put-in-Bay until his death, which occurred
in October, 1869, when he was forty-seven
years of age. His widow, long surviving him,
departed this life April 26, 1901. In their
family were eight children, of whom the fol-
lowing are living: Ellen, the widow of Leroy
Webster and now a practicing physician at
Put-in-Bay, Ohio; Jennie, the wife of James
H. Crowley, of St. Louis, Missouri; Louis C,
who is living at Middle Bass Island, Ohio;
Elliott J., who is a captain on the Great Lakes
and resides at Put-in-Bay; Emma, the wife of
Louis M. Edmeston, of Los Angeles, Califor-
nia, and John B. Of those who are deceased
Edith L., who was the youngest of the family,
died in Los Angeles, California, and Henry
died at the age of seven years, while the others
died in infancy.
Dr. Dodge acquired his early education in
the public schools of Put-in-Bay and afterward
attended the high school at Olmstead Falls,
Ohio. He then pursued a course in Oberlin
College, and his professional training was re-
ceived in the University of Michigan, which
he entered in 1877, being graduated from the
homeopathic medical department in the class
of 1880. He entered upon practice in Bascom,
Ohio, where he remained for a year and a half,
after which he spent nine years in Mason,
Michigan. He sold his practice there in 1889,
after which he pursued a post-graduate course
in the Hahnemann Medical College, of Chi-
cago, and also Brandt's course in artificial sur-
gery. Seeking a location in the west he settled
at Omaha, Nebraska, where he practiced for a
year, and in 1892 returned to Michigan and
has since been a member of the medical fra-
ternity at St. Johns, with a constantly growing
business, which is indicative of the confidence
and trust reposed in his professional ability by
the general public. He has been both county
physician and health officer for St. Johns and
is a member of the Clinton County Medical So-
ciety.
Dr. Dodge belongs to the Knights of
Pythias fraternity, the Royal Arcanum and
the Foresters. He was married in August,
1892, to Miss Marion E, Hodges, a daughter
of Hiram H. Hodges, of Ingham county, and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
a lady of superior culture and refinement, who
is now a teacher of piano, voice culture and
harmony. She was a pupil of Professor C. B.
Sheffler, of Albion College, also studied with a
pupil of Madame Marchesi, of Paris, and is a
graduate of the Chicago Musical College. She
teaches with marked success Dr. Mason's new
system of "touch and technic" for piano and
Madame Marchesi's method for voice. She
has taught for about seventeen years and is a
most competent instructor of the art.
FREDERICK W. AINSLIE.
Frederick W. Ainslie is a self-made man,
whose success has come entirely through his
own labors, his persistency of purpose and
sound business judgment. He is numbered
among Michigan's native sons, his birth hav-
ing occurred in Oakland county, on the 29th
of January, 1852. The family is of English
lineage, the grandfather, came direct from
England to the new world, taking up his abode
in the state of New York. There his son,
Hiram Ainslie, was born, and after his mar-
riage to Miss Mary Lamb he came to Michi-
gan. His wife was also a native of the Em-
pire state and she, too, was of English descent.
They settled in Oakland county, where they
resided until 1863, when they came to Clinton
county, taking up their abode on section 16,
Watertown township. They removed to the
county line about twenty-eight years ago and
later located on section 29, Watertown town-
ship, where they spent their remaining days,
the father passing away in 1902, at the very
advanced age of eighty-three years, while his
wife died in 1898, at the age of seventy-nine
years. They w^ere the parents of two sons
and two daughters : Fernando, living in Har-
bor Springs, Michigan ; Fred W. ; Helen, the
wife of John C. Clark, of Grand Ledge, Mich-
igan ; and Emma, the wife of Lawrence Smith,
of Antrim county, Michigan.
Frederick W. Ainslie pursued a district-
school education and afterward attended the
Lansing Business College. He has devoted
his entire life to farming with the exception
of one term spent as a teacher. He then began
business for himself and soon had accumulated
a capital of four hundred and fifty dollars. He
was employed in various ways until he pur-
chased a interest in a farm on section 32,
Watertown township. Later he sold out there
and bought his present farm on section 29,
Watertown township, in 1876. There were
patches of timber on the place but these have
been cleared away and his land has been trans-
formed into highly cultivated fields. In 1894
he erected a good barn and in 1903 built a fine
residence. This is indeed a model home, one
of the best in the township. He has improved
his land and although he had nothing but a
yoke of cattle and a small outfit when he set-
tled upon this place he has to-day a well
equipped and well stocked farm, supplied with
all modern conveniences. The fields return
good harvests for the care and labor he be-
stows upon them and he is now enjoying a
gratifying measure of prosperity.
In 1875 Mr. Ainslie was married to Miss
May Boylan, a daughter of William Boylan,
of Watertown township. Her mother bore the
maiden name of Fannie Fitzsimmons. Mr.
and Mrs. Ainslie now have a son and daugh-
ter, Claude and Mabel, both at home. In poli-
tics he is a republican and is now serving for
the fourth term as highway commissioner. He
has been moderator for nine years of Star
school district, No. 5, in Watertown township
and is interested in all that pertains to public
progress and improvement in his locality, giv-
ing loyal support to every measure that has
as its basis the benefit of township or county.
CHARLES L. AVERY.
Charles L. Avery, who carries on farming
operations on section 36, Westphalia township,
in a profitable, progressive and practical man-
ner, is a native of Lucas county, Iowa, his natal
day being June 5, 1854. His parents were
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FREDERICK W. AINSLIE.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
287
Sumner and Harriet (Holbrook) Avery, the
former a native of Massachusetts and the lat-
ter of Vermont. The father was a farmer by
occupation and when thirty years of age left
the old Bay state and removed to Lorain
county, Ohio, whence in 1852 he went to Iowa.
The year 1865 witnessed his arrival in Clinton
county, Michigan, and, taking up his abode in
Eagle township, he there made his home until
his death, which occurred in 1898, when he
reached the venerable age of eighty-four years.
In politics he was a stanch republican and
voted for Abraham Lincoln. He was promi-
nent, active and helpful in church work, hold-
ing membership in the Free Methodist denom-
ination, and he lived an honorable, upright life.
His wife still survives him at the age of sev-
enty-eight years. In their family were ten
children, of whom the following are still liv-
ing: F. W, who resides in Eagle township;
Jane, the wife of A. F. Williams, of Westpha-
lia township; Charles L., of this review-
Aaron, a resident of Lansing, Michigan ; Sum-
ner F., an agriculturist of Eagle township;
Ada, the wife of Edgar Wilkins, of Eagle
township, and Lora, who completes the family.
Those who have departed this life are Cedeiia,
Harriet and Emma.
In the district schools Charles L. Avery
mastered the branches of learning which
equipped him for life's practical and responsi-
ble duties, and upon the home farm remained
until twenty-one years of age, when, starting out
in life on his own account, he returned to Iowa,
where he remained for a year and a half. He
then came again to Michigan and for seven years
worked at the carpenter's trade, after which he
turned his attention to farming, locating on his
present farm on section 36, Westphalia town-
ship, in 1884. Here he has one hundred and
sixty acres of land, but he began with only
thirty-nine acres. He built a comfortable
house in 1901 and a good modern barn, with
cement basement, in 1895, and altogether has
a well improved and valuable farm.
In 1882 Mr. Avery was married to Miss Ida
M. Howe, a daughter of Daniel and Catherine
Howe, of New York. They now have six
children: Ethel C, Earl D., Bert H., Lena,
Hazel and Minerva.
When twenty-one years of age Mr. Avery
started out in life on his own account with a
capital of only fifty cents and all that he has
since acquired has come as the reward of his
own labor and diligence. He is ambitious and
enterprising, forms his plans readily and is de-
termined in their execution and these com-
mendable traits constitute the basis of his
success. He came into possession of land cov-
ered with brush and has converted it into a
good farm. He is an independent voter and
has filled some school offices but is without po-
litical aspiration, preferring to give his undi-
vided attention to his business interests, which,
capably managed, have brought to him a com-
fortable competence.
GEORGE W. FOX.
George W. Fox is the owner of three well
improved farms near Maple Rapids, compris-
ing seven hundred acres, lying in Clinton and
Gratiot counties. Coming to Michigan from
the Empire state, he was born in Ontario
county, New York, January 14, 1842, spent
the days of his boyhood and youth there and
was educated in the common schools. Mr.
Fox came to Michigan in i860, going
first to Kent county, where he operated a farm
on the shares. For seven years he was identi-
fied with agricultural interests there but in the
meantime he responded to the country's call
for aid, enlisting December 14, 1861, as a
member of Company C, Thirteenth Michigan
Infantry, for three years' service. On Septem-
ber 12, 1862, however, he was discharged on
account of physical disability. He had par-
ticipated in the battle of Shiloh and in several
skirmishes and was afterward in the hospital
at Nashville, Tennessee, being ill with typhoid
fever. He was then discharged and returned
to Kent county, Michigan, where he resided
until 1867, when he came to Clinton county
and bought a farm of eighty acres. This he
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
improved and later he sold the property, set-
tling in Gratiot county, where he engaged in
the stock business. He began to buy and ship
stock and continued for four years in that busi-
ness. On the expiration of that period he pur-
chased a farm of two hundred and forty acres
in Gratiot county, where he carried on general
agricultural pursuits for four years, when he
sold the property for ten thousand dollars. He
next bought a farm in Clinton county and in
1883 took up his abode here.
About this time Mr. Fox was united in mar-
riage to Mrs. Laura M. Benedict, a widow, who
was born in Ohio but was reared in Michigan
and engaged in teaching school for several
years in this state. She first married George
Benedict, who was a farmer and died in this
county in 1880. After their marriage Mr. and
Mrs. Fox located on the Benedict farm and in
connection with the tilling of the soil he en-
gaged in stock raising, making a specialty of
sheep. He afterwards bought more land from
time to time and now owns three farms, two
lying in Clinton county and one in Gratiot
county. All are well improved and valuable
properties. He likewise has a good residence
in Maple Rapids, where he has resided for
fifteen years. His holdings indicate his life of
enterprise, careful management and keen busi-
ness discernment. He has carefully conducted
his farming and stock-raising interests as the
years have gone by and to-day is one of the
substantial citizens of the county with large
and valuable land holdings.
On the 23d of April, 1894, Mr. Fox was
called upon to mourn the loss of his wife. By
her former marriage she had one son, Charles
L. Benedict, who owns and operates the old
Benedict farm. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fox was
born a daughter, Vera, who is now acting as
her father's housekeeper.
Politically Mr. Fox is a stalwart republican
and while never a politician in the sense of
office seeking he has always kept well informed
on the questions and issues of the day. He be-
longs to the Masonic fraternity at Maple
Rapids and is a man of genial disposition and
many excellent traits of character who has won
the friendship of many with whom he has
come in contact. He has been a resident of
Michigan for forty-five years and has been
identified with Clinton county as one of its
successful business men and prosperous farm-
ers. He has helped to improve and develop a
number of good farms in this part of the state
and has thus been of material benefit to the
community in its upbuilding and progress.
What he has accomplished should serve to in-
spire and encourage others, showing the force
and value of industry, enterprise and persist-
ency of purpose in the active affairs of life.
LEVI W. SIBLEY.
Levi W. Sibley, living on section 33, Olive
township, is one of the thrifty and prosperous
farmers and dairymen, who in his business in-
terests so conducts his efforts that gratifying
financial results follow. To his own labors his
success is attributable and the proof of his active
and enterprising life is found in his well im-
proved farm of one hundred and forty acres.
A native of the state of New York, Mr. Sib-
ley was born in Clinton county, March 18, 1841.
His father, Luther E. Sibley, was also a native
of that county, born in 18 16 and his father
was John Sibley, whose birth occurred in Mas-
sachusetts. The Sibley family is of English
lineage and was founded in Massachusetts at
an early day. John Sibley removed from that
state to New York, settling in Clinton county,
where Luther Sibley was born and reared. The
latter was married there to Emeline Eells, a
native of Clinton county, New York, and a
daughter of John Eells, who was born in the
Green Mountain state and was of English
lineage. Luther Sibley was a farmer of Clinton
county, rearing his family there and making
his home in that locality up to the time of his
death, which occurred about 1880. He was
twice married, his first wife passing away in
•1859, after which he married again. There
were four sons and two daughters of the first
union, all of whom reached mature years, the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
291
sons being Luther, who was a soldier of the
Second New York Cavalry and died in Louisi-
ana while upon the Red river expedition in
1864; Franklyn and Randall, who are residents
of St. Lawrence county, New York; and
Levi W.
Levi W. Sibley was reared to manhood in
the county of his nativity and enlisted in March,
1862, as a defender of the Union cause in the
Civil war, being assigned to duty with Com-
pany C, Ninety-sixth New York Volunteer
Infantry. With his command he went south,
the regiment being attached to the Army of the
Potomac under General George B. McClellan.
Mr. Sibley participated in the siege of York-
town and in the battles of Williamsburg and
Fair Oaks. He was there taken a prisoner and
was incarcerated in Libby prison for a few
days, after which he was transferred to the
prison at Salisbury, North Carolina, where he
remained for sometime. Later he was taken to
Belle Isle and received his parole there. Going
to Annapolis, Maryland, he was in the hospital
camp until exchanged, when he rejoined his
regiment at Plymouth, North Carolina. Sub-
sequent to this time he re-enlisted and returned
home on a veteran furlough of thirty days.
When that time had expired he rejoined his
command at Plattsburg, New York, and served
until the close of the war. He was wounded
in the thigh at Chapin's farm near Fort Har-
rison by a gunshot and was in the hospital until
the close of hostilities, after which he was hon-
orably discharged in New York harbor in Feb-
ruary, 1866.
Mr. Sibley then spent a short time in recu-
perating his health, which had become much im-
paired because of the rigors and hardships of
war. Later he came west to Michigan and
joined some friends in Clinton county. In the
fall of 1866 he bought an eighty-acre tract of
land, where he now resides and upon it were
some improvements. The following year he
began its further cultivation and to-day has a
valuable property. He has since built a good
neat residence and two barns. He bought more
land and now owns one hundred and forty
acres constituting a valuable farm, which is
equipped with all modern accessories. He uses
the latest improved machinery in carrying on
the farm work and everything about his place
is in excellent condition.
Levi Sibley was united in marriage in Lan-
sing, in May, 1867, to Miss Alzina Carr, a na-
tive of Clinton county, New York, who came
west when a child of nine years. Her father.
John B. Carr, bringing his family to Michigan,
cast in his lot with the early settlers of Ingham
county. Mr. and Mrs. Sibley have become the
parents of seven children : Emeline and Sadie,
who are carrying on a dressmaking establish-
ment in Lansing; Luther W., who is a promi-
nent businss man of Dewitt; Rutherford, who
assists in the operation of the home farm; Levi
H., who is a mail agent on the rural route;
Stella, who is with her sisters in Lansing: and
Russell A., at home. They also lost five chil-
dren in early youth.
Politically Mr. Sibley is a stanch republican,
never faltering in his support of the men and
measures of the party, but the honors and emol-
uments of office have had no attraction for him.
He was elected, however, and served for one
or more terms as highway commissioner. Forty
years have passed since he took up his abode
on the farm which is now his home. He has
witnessed much of the growth and development
of this part of the state and has helped to make
Clinton county what it is to-day. He is one of
the few survivors of the war of the Rebellion
and deserves the praise which is ever due the
loyal soldier who risks his life in defense of a
principle or a cause.
O. D. CASTERLINE.
O. D. Casterline, a representative of farm-
ing interests living on section 27, Essex town-
ship, was born in Tompkins county, New
York, July 13, 1853. He is a son of A. L.
Casterline, of whom mention is made in con-
nection with the sketch of Warren Casterline
on another page of this work. When a lad of
only four years the subect of this review came
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
with his parents to Clinton county and was
reared in Dewitt township, living with his
father until he had attained his majority, his
education being acquired in the public schools.
He was married in the city of Lansing on the
nth of February, 1876, to Miss Mary D. Web-
ster, a daughter of E. D. Webster, of Essex
township. She was born in Essex township
and spent her girlhood days in Clinton county.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cas-
terline removed to Texas, settling in Ellis
county in March, 1876, but after three months
spent in the Lone Star state they returned to
Michigan and took up their abode in Essex
township, Clinton county. Mr. Casterline is
a mason by trade, having learned the business
under the direction of his father, and subse-
quent to his return to the north he became iden-
tified with building operations. He erected a
house in Maple Rapids and locating there
made his home in the village for several years.
Later, however, he removed to a farm,
whereon he carried on general agricultural
pursuits until 1881. In that year he took up
his abode at his present place of residence and
began the development of his fields. He now
owns two farms adjoining, both equipped with
good buildings and well improved according
to the modern standard of agricultural devel-
opment. He gives his time and attention to
both places and in connection with the raising
of cereals is also engaged in the raising of
good grades of stock. He rented his place out
for five years but now has charge of the farms
and is annually gathering therefrom good har-
vests. His wife inherited a part of her father's
estate.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Casterline has been born
one child, Oral E., the wife of John F. Parr, of
St. Johns, by whom she has a daughter, Alice
Elizabeth Parr. Mr. Casterline belongs to the
Masonic fraternity and was initiated into the
craft at Dewitt. He and his wife hold mem-
bership in the Order of the Eastern Star and
he gives his political allegiance to the democ-
racy. He has been a resident of Clinton county
from his early youth to the present time and
during this long period many changes have
been wrought as time and man have left their
impress upon the county. Where once stood
the native forests are now seen fields of waving*
grain and the county has become thickly set-
tled by a prosperous and contented people,
who have introduced all the improvements and
conveniences of the older east and have so util-
ized its conditions as to gain success. Mr. Cas-
terline is now classed with the representative
agriculturists of his community. He is a man
of sterling character and both he and his wife
are greatly esteemed throughout the commu-
nity.
SAMUEL FOSTER.
Samuel Foster, a prosperous farmer and
stock-raiser living on section 26, Victor town-
ship, is among the worthy citizens that Eng-
land has furnished to Clinton county. He was
born in Hampshire on the "merrie isle/' May
2, 1837, and was reared to manhood there upon
a farm. He emigrated to the new world with
a sister, Ann Foster, crossing the Atlantic in
1853. They came direct to Michigan, settling
first in Ingham county, where Mr. Foster
worked on a farm by the year. He was paid
ninety-five dollars for a year's service and out
of this sum managed to save fifty dollars per
year. He spent three years there, after which
he removed to Wayne county, Michigan, lo-
cating in Plymouth, where he was again em-
ployed as a farm hand for eight years. While
residing there, however, he put aside farming
interests and all personal considerations in order
that he might espouse the cause of his adopted
country and aid in the defense of the Union,
enlisting at Plymouth in August, 1862, as a
member of Company C, Twenty-fourth Michi-
gan Infantry. The regiment was sent to Wash-
ington and joined the Army of the Potomac.
The first engagement in which Mr. Foster par-
ticipated was at Fredericksburg under General
Burnside and he was also in the battle of Chan-
cellorsville in the spring of 1863. He likewise
participated in the battle of Gettysburg, in the
battle of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
293
house, Petersburg and many others of less im-
portance. He was taken prisoner after the fight
at Petersburg and was thus held for eight
months, being at Andersonville, Florence and
Wilmington prisons. He was then paroled and
later was discharged at Baltimore, Maryland,
in April, 1865. Mr. Foster is familiar with all
of the depredations and hardships which are
meted out to the soldier. He not only suffered
the difficult life on the battle-field but also the
horrors of a southern prison.
After the close of the war Mr. Foster re-
turned to Wayne county, Michigan, and again
was engaged in farming there for several years.
In 1872 he removed to Clinton county and
bought forty acres, where he now resides.
Later he began to farm this place and he has
subsequently extended its boundaries by ad-
ditional purchases until he now has one hun-
dred and seventy-three acres, on which he has
built a good, neat residence, also a substantial
barn and outbuildings. He has planted small
fruit, has set out an orchard, has fenced the
place and laid over a mile of tiling, so that the
farm is well drained. In fact it is equipped
with all modern improvements and accessories,
and in connection with the tilling of the soil
Mr. Foster raises good stock, making a spe-
cialty of Percheron horses for twenty years.
He sold one three-year-old colt for two hun-
dred dollars. In both branches of his business
he has prospered and he well merits his suc-
cess.
Mr. Foster was married in Clinton county,
in April, 1867, to Miss Elmerette Robinson,
a native of Livingston county, Michigan, and
a daughter of Rev. Robinson, a minister of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Foster,
however, is a member of the Congregational
church at Laingsburg, while Mr. Foster be-
longs to the Grange and to the Grand Army of
the Republic. Mr. Foster began life in the new
world a poor young man with no assistance
upon whch he might depend but he readily
adapted himself to the conditions of the new
world and found that labor and enterprise are
the basis of all success here. Through his persist-
ent purpose and the assistance of his estimable
wife he has accumulated a good property. He
fought for the land of his adoption and has al-
ways been loyal and true to its best interests.
Wherever he is known he is regarded as a man
of sterling character and worth, and his life
record is in many respects worthy of emulation,
showing as it does what may be accomplished
through determined and earnest purpose.
OLIVER B. WALTER.
Oliver B. Walter, one of the pioneer manu-
facturers of granite and marble works in
Clinton county, conducting business at St.
Johns, is a native of Oakland county, Michi-
gan, born March 15, 1856. His parents, John
J. and Mary A. (Draper) Walter, were both
natives of the Empire state, and the father fol-
lowed the occupation of farming in New York
until his removal to Michigan at an early pe-
riod of the development of this state. He
served his country in the Civil war and is now
living in Oakland county, but in 1885 was
called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who.
passed away at the age of fifty years. In their
family were nine children: Harriet M., the
wife of Alfred Cole, of Bay City, Michigan,
and a graduate of the deaf and dumb institute,
at Flint, Michigan, her husband being likewise
deaf and dumb ; Oliver B. ; Mary J., the wife
of Robert Sweet, of Orion, Michigan; Lillie
A., the wife of James Morrison, of Clarkston,
Michigan; Oscar J., a farmer, of Elmira,
Washington; Edgar L., of Oakland county,
this state; John J., of Flint, Michigan; Lucy
M., the wife of David Lewis, of Owosso,
Michigan, and Honor B., the wife of William
T. Beckwith, of Durand, Michigan.
Oliver B. Walter was a public-school stu-
dent in his boyhood days and upon the home
farm was reared, early becoming familiar with
the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the
agriculturist. He continued farming until
twenty-two years of age and in early manhood
he also taught in his home district and in the
western part of the state, both in Oceana and
Newaygo counties. He followed the profes-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
sion in the winter seasons, while in the summer
months he worked at the trade of stone and
marble cutting at Ortonville, Michigan. Later
he removed to Caro, Tuscola county, Michigan,
where he followed his trade for five years,
after which he spent four and a half years in
Newaygo county. He was also for nine years
in Flint, Michigan, as foreman of the Barney
Marble Works, and in 1899 he came to St.
Johns, where he established business in part-
nership with William W. Hodge under the firm
name of Walter & Hodge. They are well known
as monument dealers, doing a general cemetery
business, and their monuments are carved en-
tirely from granite. The firm are pioneers in
this line of manufacture in Clinton county and
the scope of their territory covers Clinton, Gra-
tiot, Shiawassee and Ingham counties, and
they likewise make shipments to other parts of
the state, conducting a wholesale business in
the red Missouri granite. Their patronage has
become extensive, making their business a
profitable investment and their trade is con-
stantly growing.
On the 24th of December, 1882, Mr. Walter
was married to Miss Mary E., daughter of
Rev. David and Lucy A. Gostelow, of Caro,
Michigan. This marriage has been blessed
with two daughters, Evelyn and Winifred. Mr.
Walter has membership relations with the
Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of
America. His business career has been char-
acterized by consecutive progress as the result
of laudable endeavor and ambition supple-
mented by keen business discrimination and
sagacity.
WILLIAM DILLS.
William Dills, living on section 32, Olive
township, has retired from the active work of
the farm but makes his home with his daugh-
ter on the old homestead within a mile of the
village of Dewitt. He is numbered among the
old settlers of the state, dating his residence in
Michigan from 1842 and since 1853 he has
lived in Clinton county. His birth occurred in
Cayuga county, New York, September 10,
1820. His father, George Dills, was a native
of the same county and was there reared to
manhood, after which he married Miss Jane
Hillaker. Mr. Dills removed to Ohio with his
family in 1830 and settled in Huron county,
where he engaged in farming until he came to
Michigan, joining his son in Clinton county,
where he spent his remaining days.
William Dills was reared in the Buckeye state
and was a young man when he removed to
Michigan in 1842. He first located in Oak-
land county and in the same year was married
in that county to Miss Maria Hillaker, whose
birth occurred in Cayuga county, New York,
where her girlhood days were passed. Follow-
ing their marriage the young couple began their
domestic life upon a tract of rented land which
Mr. Dills operated for a number of years. He
also owned and operated a threshing machine.
The year 1853 witnessed his arrival in Clinton
county, where he purchased a tract of raw land,
becoming owner of eighty acres, where he
now resides. He cleared and fenced this, built
a good home and outbuildings for the shelter
of grain and stock, and continued the work of
opening up the farm until he now has a splendid
property. As he prospered in his undertakings
he bought more land from time to time and
eventually became the owner of five hundred
acres. He was long regarded as one of the
most practical, progressive and successful agri-
culturists of the community and his rest is
well merited.
Mr. and Mrs. Dills have a family of five
children: Charles J., who resides at Council
Bluffs, Iowa; W. S., of Dewitt, who is repre-
sented elsewhere in this volume; Jerome, who
is living in Olive township; Omar B., who is
also mentioned in this work; and Mrs. Ella
Brinkerhoff, a widow, who owns a part
of the old Dills homestead. Her husband was
Odell Brinkerhoff, who was born in Cayuga
county, New York, and died in this county in
1883. He was a farmer by occupation. Mrs.
Brinkerhoff has three children: William D.
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MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM DILLS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
297
and Bert, who are resident farmers of Olive
township; and Genevieve, who is at home with
her mother.
Politically Mr. Dills has been a lifelong re-
publican and was elected and served as town-
ship treasurer when Olive township had but
three republicans in it. He filled the position
for three years and he has always been the
champion of progressive public measures. He
is a believer in education and in schools and did
effective service while acting on the school
board for a number of years. He and his wife
are Universalists in religious faith. They have
traveled life's journey together for sixty-one
years and Mrs. Dills is now eighty-one years
of age while Mr. Dills is eighty-five, being one
of the oldest men of the county. For sixty-
three years he has been a resident of Michigan,
while for over half a century he has made his
home in Clinton courty and has thus witnessed
its wonderful growTth and development. He is
well known throughout the county as a man
of upright character, sterling worth and fidelity
to principle and he and his family are much
esteemed in the community.
A. C. LEE.
A. C. Lee, of Elsie, numbered among the
enterprising business men of Clinton county,
who for many years has been connected with
agricultural pursuits and other business inter-
ests here, is a native of Cayuga county, New
York, born on the 2d of March, 1830. His
father was Amassa Lee, whose birth occurred
in Saratoga county, New York, where he was
reared and married, the lady of his choice be-
ing Miss Electa Strong, likewise a native of
the Empire state. His death occurred in 1833
when his son A. C. Lee was but a child. His
wife survived him and reared her family,
doing a mother's full part toward her children.
A. C. Lee came to Michigan with his mother
and her family in 1844, when a youth of four-
teen years. They settled on a farm in Ionia
county, where Mrs. Lee bought a farm and
transformed it into a good property. Mr. Lee
of this review is the youngest and the only
survivor in a family of eight children. He
continued his education in the schools of Ionia
county, receiving good advantages in that
direction and later he engaged in teaching for
some years. The first money he ever earned
was secured in that way, being paid a salary of
twelve dollars per month, out of which he
boarded himself. He later bought and cleared
a tract of land and for some years was identi-
fied with farming in that locality. Subse-
quently he removed to Saranac, Michigan, es-
tablishing the first bank in the town. He
helped to settle and develop that place and car-
ried on business there for a number of years.
He then sold out and removed to Clinton
county, where he started his son in the bank-
ing business at Elsie. Mr. Lee has largely de-
voted his energies in the buying and selling of
improved farms and now owns several excel-
lent farm properties in Clinton and Ionia
counties. His judgment is seldom if ever at
fault in determining real-estate values and the
probable trend of the country and his invest-
ments have therefore been judiciously made
and have brought him a good return.
Mr. Lee was married when twenty years of
age, in 1850, to Miss Harriet E. Bowen, a na-
tive of New York, whence she came to Michi-
gan in her girlhood days with her father, Israel
Bowen, and his family, who was one of the
early settlers of Oakland county. Later he re-
moved to Ionia county. Mr. and Mrs. Lee are
the parents of four children: Jennie, now the
wife of Bray ton Wilkinson, a farmer residing
at Keene, Ionia county; Chadwick A., who is
living on the home farm in Ionia county; El-
mer E., a resident farmer of Duplain town-
ship, and E. C. Lee, who resides with his
father in Elsie and is a farmer and business
man.
Mr. Lee of this review cast his first presi-
dential vote for Zachary Taylor and supported
John C. Fremont in 1856, since which time he
has never failed to cast his ballot for the pres-
idential nominees of the republican party. He
has been without political aspiration for him-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
self but has given his attention to his business
interests with a courage, energy and deter-
mination that has made him one of the sub-
stantial residents of this part of the state. For
sixty-one years he has lived in central Michi-
gan and has seen the great forests cleared
away, the towns and cities built and the work
of improvement carried forward along pro-
gressive lines until this section of the state is
lacking in none of the business enterprises or
the advantages known to the older east. Mr.
Lee has been closely identified with the devel-
opment of this part of Michigan and is a repre-
sentative citizen who well deserves mention in
this volume.
WILLIAM H. FARNILL.
William H. Farnill, living on section 6,
Bath township, has always been a resident of
Michigan, his birthplace being Washtenaw
county, his natal day November 4, 1840. His
father, Isaac Farnill, was born in Yorkshire,
England, in the year 181 5, and there passed
the days of his boyhood and youth, coming to
the new world when a young man. He located
first in Pennsylvania and was married there to
Sophia Bartlett, who was born in that state, in
182 1. About 1838 he came to Michigan, set-
tling in Washtenaw county when its popula-
tion was very limited, only here and there a
pioneer cabin being seen. He began opening
up a farm, however, and upon the place which
he improved he reared his family and spent his
last years.
It was upon the old homestead there that
William H. Farnill was reared. Every morn-
ing he made his way to the little schoolhouse
of the district, returning in the evening after
the tasks of the day were completed. Through
the summer months he aided in the work of
the fields and he remained with his father
until twenty-one years of age. He afterward
started out in life on his own account and was
employed as a farm hand by the day or month
for a few years, or until his earnings enabled
him to engage in farm work for himself.
In Washtenaw county, in 1862, Mr. Farnill
was married to Miss Ellen Gates, also a native
of this state. They began their domestic life
in Washtenaw county, where they lived for
three years, when Mr. Farnill disposed of his
interests there and purchased his present farm
on section 6, Bath township. Only a small
portion of this had been cleared and almost the
only improvement was a little log house, in
which he and his wife lived for a year or so<
until he could build a little frame house. He
had at first one hundred and sixty acres of
land, which he prepared for the plow, cultivat-
ing and fencing it. Subsequently he added
eighty acres so that he now has a good farm
of two hundred and forty acres and the care
and labor which he has bestowed upon it has
made the place very productive and his labors,
profitable. His present residence is a neat
brick house, and he has also built a good base-
ment barn. He has planted fruit, including
berries and an orchard, and altogether has a
model property. In the front of his home is a
well kept lawn, adorned with shade and orna-
mental trees and flowers and the entire place is
attractive in its appearance, forming one of
the best features of the landscape. Here he
raises good stock, making a specialty of sheep
and keeping from one to two hundred head
upon his place at all times.
Mr. and Mrs. Farnill have two children:
Arthur, who married Elizabeth West and
owns and operates a farm on section 5, Bath
township, and he has one daughter, Elsie ; and
Sophia, the wife of Nelson Sleight, of Ot-
tumwa, Iowa, by whom she has two children.
Vern and Sophia.
Politically an earnest republican, Mr. Far-
nill has supported the party since casting his
first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln,
his last ballot being given to Theodore Roose-
velt. He served as commissioner of highways
and on the board of reviews, has been a mem-
ber of the school board for twelve years and
likewise school treasurer for twelve years. He
has served as a delegate to the county conven-
tions and was a member of the first jury that
ever sat in the present courthouse. His entire
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
299
life has been passed in Michigan and its
growth and progress have been matters of
deep interest to him, while in his home locality
he has contributed to the work of general ad-
vancement and improvement through his pub-
lic-spirited citizenship and his co-operation in
many measures that have proved of benefit to
the county.
HERMAN P. KRAUS.
Enterprise and thrift are manifest in the
business life of Herman P. Kraus, who is op-
erating the old home farm on section 15, De-
witt township. He was born upon this place,
September 2, 1873, his father being Philipp
Kraus, who was born in Washtenaw county,
Michigan, in 1840, while the grandfather,
Christian Kraus, was a native of Germany and
became one of the first settlers of Michigan.
Philipp Kraus was reared in Washtenaw
county and in 1859 accompanied his father on
his removal to Clinton county, locating on the
farm where his son Herman now resides. He
bought two hundred acres of raw land, which
he cleared and fenced, also erected a good resi-
dence and made other modern improvements,
transforming his place into one of the valuable
farm properties of the locality. Philipp Kraus
was married here to Elizabeth Baumgras, a
native of Germany. He purchased the interest
of the other heirs in the old homestead prop-
erty and thus succeeded to the place upon
which he afterward built a good, neat brick
residence and substantial outbuildings, thus
making a well improved farm. He carried on
general agricultural pursuits until 1899, when
he removed to Lansing and purchased a resi-
dence property in which he now lives retired.
In his family were five children : Kate, who is
now the wife of Scott Clark; Herman P., of
this review ; Eugene, who is living in Lansing ;
Clara, the wife of Fred Wimble, of Lansing;
and Matilda, who is now attending Albion
College.
Herman P. Kraus was reared to manhood
on the farm where he now resides, acquiring
his education in the common schools and in
Lansing Business College. He was married,
on the 1 8th of October, 1899, in Watertown,
to Miss Julia Knaup, a native of Ohio, who
was reared and educated here. After his mar-
riage Mr. Kraus took charge of the old home
farm, where he is engaged in the cultivation of
the soil, in raising stock and in dairying. His
business interests are well managed and bring
him a good financial return.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kraus has been born a
daughter, Edna. The parents are members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is
serving as a trustee. He gives his political alle-
giance to the republican party and in this re-
spect is following in the footsteps of his father,
who has always been a stanch republican and
served for several years as highway commis-
sioner. He and his wife were members of the
Gunnisonville Methodist Episcopal church, in
the work of which Mr. Kraus took a most act-
ive and helpful part, was steward and trustee,
and was one of the most generous contributors
toward the erection of the present brick house
of worship. He was also a stalwart friend of
education, believing in the employment of good
teachers and in upholding a high standard of
education and for a number of years he capably
served on the school board.
LAFAYETTE JONES.
Lafayette Jones, now living retired in St.
Johns, is a native of Oakland county, Michi-
gan, born June 9, 1843, ^'1S parents being
George and Chloe A. (Aldrich) Jones. The
father was a native of Ontario county, Newr
York. The Jones family was established in
the United States in 1727, when representa-
tives of the name emigrated from Wales and
located in Virginia. The grandfather, Samuel
Jones, became a resident of Ontario county,
New York, whence he afterward removed to
Michigan, settling in Oakland county in 1836.
There he spent his remaining days, following
the occupation of farming. The Aldrich fam-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
ily is one of those of Plymouth Rock fame,
and from Massachusetts the family went to
New York and afterward to Michigan, arriv-
ing in Wayne county in 1835. Savel Aldrich,
the maternal grandfather of our subject, took
up land at various points throughout the state
and was actively connected with the pioneer
development. His daughter, Chloe A. Aid-
rich, was born in New York state and in Oak-
land county, Michigan, gave her hand in mar-
riage to George Jones. In their family were
twelve children, of whom eight are living : La-
fayette, James E., who resides in Lansing,
Michigan; Sarah Emily, the wife of Benjamin
F. Miller, of the capital city; Florence A., the
wife of a Mr. Stringer, of Luther, Michigan;
Ida, the wife of Benjamin West, of Grand
Ledge, this state; Freeman A., a practicing
physician of Lansing, Michigan; and John
B. and Ernest A., who are residents of Grand
Ledge. Those deceased are: Justin N., who
died in North Carolina ; T. Homer ; Henry D. ;
and Barton S., who died in Grand Ledge in
May, 1905.
Lafayette Jones was a student in the dis-
trict schools of Oneida township, Eaton
county, Michigan, and later continued his
studies in the Union school at Charlotte, this
state. After teaching for one term he entered
a select school in Lansing, and later he taught
for one winter at Charlotte, Michigan. He be-
gan preparation for the practice of medicine as
a student in the office and under the direction
of Dr. J. C. Covey, of Grand Ledge, and in
1864-5-6 he attended lectures in the University
of Michigan, from which he ivas graduated in
the last mentioned year.
Dr. Jones began active practice in Pewamo,
Michigan, where he remained from the spring
of 1866 until the autumn of 1875. At that date
he began farming in Essex township, Clinton
county, following agricultural pursuits with
excellent success until the spring of 1892,
when he removed to St. Johns, where he has
since lived retired. His undertakings upon^the
farm returned his a gratifying measure of suc-
cess and upon his removal to the city he sold
his farm property, comprising two hundred
acres of valuable land. He spends his time
largely in travel, having visited many points
of the United States and Europe, and he has
attended the various expositions since the
Cotton Exposition was held in 1885. He
greatly enjoys home life, having a residence
which is well adapted to comfort and its hos-
pitality is one of its attractive features.
Dr. Jones was happily married January 12,
1867, t0 Miss Maria H. Halbert, a daughter
of Harrison Halbert, of Grand Ledge. Her
father came from Leroy, New York, to Mich-
igan in 1858, settling in Grand Ledge in 1861.
His wife bore the maiden name of Harriet
Tillotson and comes of an old family of Con-
necticut, tracing her ancestry back through
three hundred years.
TYLER C. AVERY.
Tyler C. Avery, following the occupation of
farming on section 5, Ovid township, is a na-
tive of Wyoming county, New York, born
February 5, 1833, his parents being John and
Sarah (Cooper) Avery, the former a native of
Connecticut and the latter of New York. In
pioneer times in the history of Michigan the
father came west to Clinton county and took up
forty acres of government land in Greenbush
township. He afterward removed to a farm a
mile east and at one time was the owner of three
hundred acres of rich and productive land. He
died upon the old farm homestead in 1885, at
the age of eighty-five years, while his wife
passed away in 1882, when seventy-seven years
of age. Horace Avery, a brother of John
Avery, came to Michigan with him and also
located in Greenbush township but subsequently
sold his property and removed to Nebraska,
where his death occurred. In the family of Mr.
and Mrs. John Avery were seven children:
John, *a pj;apticing physician at Greenville,
Michigan; James M., who is now living in Lake
county, this state; Sanford C, who is living
on a part of the old homestead farm ; Tyler C. ;
and three who have passed away, Marvin hav-
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Bemcnt Public Library
St Johns. Michigan
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T. C. AVERY.
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MRS. T. C. AVERY.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
305
ing been killed while serving in the Union
Army as a member of the Third Michigan
Cavalry, while Ann is the deceased wife of
Alpheus Chapman, and Laura, the deceased
wife of Leonard Clark.
Tyler C. Avery was only four years old when
brought by his parents to this state and his
education was acquired in one of the old log
schoolhouses. He began working in the tim-
ber upon the old home farm and forty-five years
ago he came to his present farm on section 5,
Ovid township, taking possession of eighty acres
of wild land, on which he cut the first stick
of timber. He has since cleared all but a few
acres and has plowed and planted the fields and
continued the work of improvement until he
now has a valuable and productive farming
property.
When his father came to this county in 1839
Dewitt was the nearest trading town and on
one occasion the family had to go to Ann Ar-
bor for salt. The first home of the family was
a little log structure, the roof being made of
boughs. As the years have gone by Mr. Avery
has continued the work of cultivation and im-
provement until he now has a valuable farm-
ing property. He relates many interesting in-
cidents of pioneer times that took place around
the old homestead farm in Greenbush township.
Wolves and bears were numerous in the forests
and annoyed the settlers by killing hogs and
even since Mr. Avery has taken up his abode
upon his present farm he had four of his sheep
killed by a bear. Great changes have occurred,
however, as the years have gone by and the
country has been claimed by the settlers who
have transformed the wild timbered region into
fertile farms and attractive homes.
On the nth of December, 1855, Mr. Avery
was married to Miss Hannah Rowell, a daugh-
ter of Samuel and Sarah (Pearl) Rowell, both
of whom were natives of Springwater, New
York. Mrs. Avery, having traveled life's
journey with her husband for more than forty-
six years, departed this life June 28, 1902, at
the age of sixty-two. In their family were four
daughters and a son: Alice, the wife of John
Fizzell, of Duplain township; Emma, deceased;
Jennie, the wife of Grant Cleveland, of Eureka,
Michigan; Myrtle, the wife of Lewis McCul-
lough, of Ashley, Michigan; and Arthur J.,
of Ovid township.
Mr. Avery is a republican, having always
given his allegiance to that party, and his first
vote was cast in Greenbush township. Both he
and his wife are members of the Christian
church at Colony. He is one of the substantial
pioneers of Clinton county and a highly re-
spected citizen. From boyhood days he has
lived in this part of the state and all who know
him entertain for him warm regard because he
has been found reliable in business transactions,
faithful in citizenship and loyal in friendship.
JAMES HENRY.
James Henry, living on section 7, Duplain
township, is the owner of a farm of eighty
acres, which in appearance indicates his care-
ful supervision and practical, progressive
methods. He has lived in this state since 1863
and imbued with the spirit of progress in the
great west has taken an active and helpful part
in the work of general improvement. His
birth occurred in Ohio, on the 9th of July.
1848. His father was a native of Pennsyl-
vania but in early life removed westward to
Ohio, where he died during the infancy of his
son James. He was married to Miss Mary
Henry, also a native of the Keystone state and
a daughter of Benjamin Henry, an early set-
tler of Pennsylvania. A few years after the
death of her first husband she gave her hand in
marriage to John Waggoner, a native of Ohio
and one of the early settlers of Clinton county.
James Henry of this review was the only
child born unto his parents. After his mother's
second marriage he remained with her until he
had attained his majority and then came to
Michigan, purchasing a farm of eighty acres
in Greenbush township, Clinton county. On
this he built a house and improved the fields
and later he purchased where he now resides
on section 7, Duplain township. He has
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
erected here a good two-story house, also a
substantial barn and other outbuildings for the
shelter of grain and stock. He has planted an
orchard and considerable small fruit and in
connection with the tilling of the fields he
raises some stock, principally cows for dairy
purposes. His farm indicates in its thrifty
and well kept appearance the enterprise and
careful management of the owner, who is
practical in all of his work and is meeting wTith
very gratifying success.
On the 4th of July, 1872, Mr. Henry was
married to Miss Florence E. Pray, a native of
Clinton county and a daughter of Orman
Pray, one of the early settlers of this state.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry have three children :
Charles, a resident of Eureka ; Bertha, the
wife of Nile Countryman, of Elsie, and Artie,
a young man at home. The parents are mem-
bers of the Christian church of Eureka. Polit-
ically Mr. Henry is independent, voting for
men and measures rather than party, yet is not
remiss in any duties of citizenship, and his co-
operation can be counted upon to further any
movements for the general good.
GEORGE B. FAXON.
George B. Faxon, postmaster at Ovid, is a
native of Duplain, Clinton county, born May
9, 1850. His father, William H. Faxon, was
born in Batavia, New York, and came to the
west in 1837, settling in Clinton county. Here
he was married to Miss Bethsheba Seaver. a
native of Rochester, New York, who arrived
in this county in 1836. Mr. Faxon turned his
attention to merchandising, which he carried
on in Duplain towmship, and in 1861 he re-
moved to Ovid, where he conducted a general
store until 1872, when he sold out. He is en-
gaged in the insurance business in Ovid and
has long been recognized as one of the promi-
nent men of his locality.
George B. Faxon, having obtained his early
education in the common schools, continues his
studies for two years in the academy at Lansing,
Michigan, and he entered upon his business
career as a clerk in his father's store, spending
the greater portion of his youth behind the
counter. After leaving his father's store he
entered 'the employ of Potter & Swarthout,
general merchants of Ovid, whom he repre-
sented as a salesman for ten years, being one
of the most trusted employes of that house.
This position was followed by his appointment
as postmaster of Ovid under President Harri-
son on the 9th of January, 1893, and he has
been continued in the office by reappointment of
Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt for a
period of twelve consecutive years and will
probably be re-appointed. He is an unfaltering
advocate of republican principles, strong in his
work in behalf of the party and he has never
wavered in his allegiance thereto since casting
his first presidential ballot for General Grant.
He has done everything in his power to pro-
mote the growth of the party and insure its
success and is recognized as one of the local
leaders.
On the 1 6th of November, 1869, Mr. Faxon
was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe L. Har-
rison, .a daughter of Z. H. (and Sophronia
(Beebe) Harrison, the former a native of New
Jersey and the latter of New York. Her
father became a prominent citizen of Ovid,
where he was engaged in the milling
business until his death, which occurred in
1878, when he was fifty-two years of age. His
widow still survives him. Mr. and Mrs. Faxon
have one son, George H. Faxon, who is now
private secretary to Governor Deneen, at
Springfield, Illinois, and has occupied important
positions in New York city. He was private
secretary of H. M. Floyt, the vice president
of the Chalmers Iron Works; also private
secretary of Royal West; secretary of An-
thony Comstock for two years; and secretary
of the state republican central committee of
Illinois. He is an expert stenographer and is
a favorite of "Uncle Joe" Cannon and other
men prominent in national political circles. He
was married in 1892 to Minnie Wylie and
has a daughter, lone.
George B. Faxon belongs to the Ancient
Order of United Workmen and since 1869 has
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
307
been a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, taking an active part in its musical af-
fairs and long serving as its chorister. He is
one of the leading citizens of Ovid, foremost
in many affairs of the community and is highly
respected by all who know him. His official
service has been commendable and his ad-
ministration, business-like and progressive, has
won encomiums from all concerned.
GEORGE M. KILMER.
George M. Kilmer, who is engaged in gen-
eral farming on section 14, Eagle township,
was born in the town of Fleming, Cayuga
county, New York, October 1, 1836, his par-
ents being Henry P. and Marie B. (Riley) Kil-
mer, who came to Michigan in 1853, first set-
tling in Jackson, where the father followed the
occupation of farming. He died in the year
1866, when fifty-seven years of age; and his
wife has also passed away. The Kilmers were
of Holland lineage and early representatives
of the family lived in Albany county, New
York. The Rileys were from Vermont. Our
subject's paternal grandfather was a soldier of
the war of 1812 and the great-grandfathers on
both sides were in the Revolutionary war.
George M. Kilmer was one of a family of
four children and his education was acquired
in the district schools. He remained at home
in Jackson, Michigan, through the period of
his youth and in early life learned the carpen-
ter's trade, which he followed for some years.
In 1868 he removed to Lansing and later
traded his property there for his present farm
in Eagle township, having here sixty-three
acres of land which is well cultivated and re-
turns him good harvests. The only interrup-
tion to an active business career was his service
in the Union army during the Civil war. On
the 12th of August, 1862, he enlisted at Jack-
son as a private of Company K, Seventeenth
Michigan Infantry,, and was in the service for
fourteen months. He received an honorable
discharge in October, 1863, having partici-
pated in the engagements at Antietam, South
Mountain and Fredericksburg. That his regi-
ment made a splendid record of bravery is in-
dicated by the fact that it was known as the
Stone Wall regiment.
On the 19th of November, 1857, Mr. Kil-
mer was married to Miss Orrisa Hull, a
daughter of Timothy and Orrisa (Bowdish)
Hull, natives of Franklin county, Vermont.
They lived in the Green Mountain state until
1835, when they removed to Jackson county,
Michigan, and there spent their remaining
days. Mrs. Kilmer's father died when she was
twenty months old but the mother lived to be
eighty-two years of age, passing away in Lan-
sing, Michigan. Pier paternal grandfather,
Jehiel Hull, was a colonel of the Revolutionary
war. The maternal grandfather, Colonel Jo-
seph Bowdish, who was in the same service,
was a large landowner of Franklin county,
Vermont, and was a man of very benevolent
and kindly spirit. He won his title by active
military service. Isaac B. Bowdish, an uncle
of Mrs. Kilmer, was a captain in the Civil war
and died while in the service, being injured on
a draw bridge between Suffolk and Norfolk,
Virginia. Joseph B. Hull, a brother of Mrs.
Kilmer, was a prominent pioneer of Lansing
and died in 1901.
Unto our subject and his wife have been
born three sons and a daughter who are yet
living: George M., at home; Ellsworth, who is
engaged in the fire insurance and real-estate
business at Butte, Montana; Lynn L., of Eagle
township; and Florence N., the wife of Donald
Cole, of Battle Creek, Michigan. Two of the
children died in infancy.
When age gave to Mr. Kilmer the right of
franchise he cast his presidential vote for John
C. Fremont and supported the republican
party for a time but later voted for Horace
Greeley and is now a democrat. He acted as
keeper of the prison at Ionia, Michigan, in
1882-3. For some years because of rheuma-
tism he has been incapacitated for active labor
either at his trade or on the farm but he gives
his personal supervision to his agricultural in-
terests and has a good property which is the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY
visible evidence of his life of thrift and indus-
try, representing the investment of his own
earnings.
EDWIN DOBSON.
Edwin Dobson, interested in general farm-
ing on section 12, Bingham township, was born
in Yorkshire, England, on the 30th of August,
1833, his parents being George and Mary Dob-
son, both of whom were natives of that country.
The father was born in 1800 and became a
fancy basketmaker and also conducted a store
in the city of Bridlington, thus carrying on
business until his death, which occurred Octo-
ber 1, 1845. His wife, who was born in 1805,
survived him until February 14, 1851.
Edwin Dobson is the last surviving member
of the family of thirteen children. In early life
he learned the butcher's trade, which he fol-
lowed until he sailed for America, landing in
this country in August, 1853, at Willington
Square, Canada. There he followed butchering
until he removed to Toronto, where he spent
two years, going later to Stoverville, where he
spent two and a half years. His next place of
residence was at Norwick, Canada, and in 1859
he went to Detroit, and followed farming at
Livonia, Wayne county. His attention was
thus occupied until April, 1863, when he went
to Shiawassee county, and in 1865 he returned
to Livonia, where he remained until 1872.
In that year he removed to Clinton county
and took up forty acres of land from the
government on section 12, Bingham township,
the patent being signed by General Grant and
transferred to Mr. Dobson by John Bailey. As
the years have passed by Mr. Dobson has added
two forty-acre tracts to his place, all of which
was covered with timber. His first house was
ten by fourteen feet, in which the family lived
for a year while the land was being cleared.
Later a more commodious residence was pre-
pared for the family and as the years have
gone by Mr. Dobson has continued the work of
improvement. In 1898 he built a large barn
and in 1900 erected a commodious and hand-
some residence. He bore the usual hardships of
the pioneer who makes his way into a frontier
district with no money, but as the years have
gone by he has prospered and now owns an ex-
cellent farm on which are fine buildings. None
of the roads that now pass by the farm were
opened up at that time, the nearest public high-
way being three-fourths of a mile north and
another one about an equal distance to the south.
Mr. Dobson has taken an active interest in
township matters and for a number of years
served as pathmaster, although he has always
eschewed office holding. He has, however, sup-
ported all progressive public measures for the
benefit of his community and is intensely inter-
ested in its welfare and development.
On the 1st of November, 1853, Mr. Dobson
was united in marriage to Miss Ann Stubbs, a
daugther of George Stubbs, of Yorkshire,
England, who died in March, 1854. The chil-
dren of that marriage are Harriet and Ellen,
twins, the former the wife of William Bowen
and the latter the wife of George Glasier, of
Fenton, Illinois; and George Dobson, who is
living in St. Johns. For his second wife Mr.
Dobson chose Rachel Stubbs, whom he wedded
in November, 1858, and who died on the 16th
of March, 1862. The two children of that
marriage died in infancy. On the 2d of April,
1863, occurred the marriage of Mr. Dobson and
Miss Alice Vanderkarr, a daughter of Joseph
and Prudence (Ketchem) Vanderkarr, both of
whom were natives of New York, the former
born in Rensselaer and the latter in Steuben
county. There are two children of the third
marriage: Albert E., who was born in 1868
and is living upon the home farm on section
11, Bingham township; and Walter, who was
bonf in 1877 and died in 1882.
Mrs. Dobson's parents were residents of
New York until 1845, when they came west-
ward to Michigan, settling first in Wayne
county, where the father entered land from
the government in the township of Livonia.
There he remained until 1848 and in the mean-
time he lost his wife, who died in 1846. On
leaving Wayne county he came to Clinton
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MR. AND MRS. EDWIN DOBSON.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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county, settling in Dewitt township, where he
spent a number of years and then traded that
farm for one in Shiawassee county, where he
resided until 1866. He afterward spent a year
in Owosso and then removed to Caledonia
township, settling on a farm, where he resided
until 1882, when he was killed in an accident
at the Owosso Railroad crossing on the 25th
of October of that year. His wife passed away
July 25, 1846, and Mrs. Dobson was afterward
reared by her aunt, Mrs. Priscilla Peck, of
Livonia, with whom she remained until her
marriage. Her aunt lived here for twenty-nine
years and died on the 7th of April, 1903. Mrs.
Dobson pursued her education in the district
schools until fourteen years of age and after-
ward spent one year in the State Normal School
at Ypsilanti. At the age of seventeen years she
gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Dobson, with
whom she has now traveled life's journey for
more than forty years.
Since coming to this country Mr. Dobson
has made several trips back to his native land,
visiting England in 1885, 1891, 1895 and again
in 1899. His first voyage across the Atlantic
covered forty-two days and his last but five and
a half days, such has teen the improvement in
ocean transportation. He has never had ac-
casion to regret his determination to seek a
home in America, for here he has found the
opportunities he sought and through well
directed effort has gained a very comfortable
competence, while through an upright life he
has won many warm friends that make his resi-
dence in this county a pleasant one.
RAY ROBSON.
Ray Robson is the present efficient and
obliging postmaster of Bath and one of the
active and leading business men there, having
been connected with its mercantile interests for
twelve years. He is a native son of Michigan,
having been born in Ingham county, on the
3d of November, 1872. His father, Matthew
Robson, was born in Northumberland county.
20
England, on the 20th of February, 1829, and
came of a long line of English ancestry. He
was reared to manhood in the county of his
nativity and when a young man came to the
new world, arriving here in 1853. He first lo-
cated in Canada, where he spent two years,
and then came to Michigan, settling in Ingham
county, in 1855. Here he worked on a farm
and later he bought a tract of land which he
cultivated for a number of years. He bought,
improved and sold four different farms in the
county and was one of its progressive and en-
terprising agriculturists. He was married in
Ingham county, to Miss Jemima A. Thorn-
bury, who was also a native of England and
in her girlhood days was brought to the new
world, being reared in Michigan. In 1884 Mr.
Robson sold his property in Ingham county
and took up his abode in Bath, Clinton county,
where he purchased a store building and put
in a stock of goods. He carried on the busi-
ness "for about nine years and then sold out to
his son. There were two sons in the family
but Ernest died when a young man of about
twenty years. Politically the father is a
stanch republican, having supported the party
since casting his first presidential ballot for
Abraham Lincoln but he has never sought or
desired office. He is widely and favorably
known in both Ingham and Clinton counties as
a respected and worthy citizen.
Ray Robson arrived in Clinton county when
a lad of twelve years and was reared in Bath,
acquiring his education in its public schools.
From his youth up he assisted in his father's
store, early becoming familiar with the busi-
ness, acquainted with the stock and under-
standing the principles of successful conduct
here. In 1893 ne purchased his fathers store
and succeeded to the business, which he has
since carried on, having now a large and care-
fully selected line of goods such as is in de-
mand by the general trade. He was ap-
pointed postmaster of Bath by President Mc-
Kinley and has now served in that capacity for
eight years, his administration of the duties of
the office being highly satisfactory to the gen-
eral public.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Mr. Robson was married, in Bath, in Octo-
ber, 1893, to Miss Daisy La Noble, a native of
Clinton county, Michigan, born, reared and
educated in Bath, and a daughter of John La
Noble, a prominent farmer of this locality.
Like his father Mr. Robson gives his political
allegiance to the republican party but aside
from the office of postmaster has never sought
or desired political preferment, giving his time
exclusively to his business interests. He is a
young man of good business ability and execu-
tive force, of keen discernment and laudable
ambition and of sterling character.
CHARLES S. DIETRICH.
Charles S. Dietrich, who follows farming
on section 13, Victor township, was born in
Macomb county, Michigan, on the 23d of
January, 1849, and is a representative of one
of the old families of Pennsylvania. His pa-
ternal grandfather, Jacob Dietrich, was reared
in the Keystone state and in 1823 removed to
New York, settling in Monroe county, where
he reared his family. His son, Martin Diet-
rich, was born in Pennsylvania but spent the
days of his boyhood and youth in the Empire
state, where he formed the acquaintance of
and married Miss Caroline Sherwood, whose
birth occurred in New York. She was a
daughter of Somers Sherwood, one of the first
settlers of Monroe county.
In early life Martin Dietrich learned the
wagonmaker's trade, which pursuit he fol-
lowed for a few years, while later he turned his
attention to carpentering and was identified
with building operations first in New York
and afterward in Michigan. Subsequent to
his arrival in this state he bought a farm in
Macomb county but took up his abode in
* Memphis, where he lived for twenty years. In
1865 he removed to the farm on section 13,
Victor township, Clinton county, where his
son C. S. Dietrich now resides, and began to
cultivate and improve that property, which he
developed through the aid of his sons. His last
years were spent upon the old homestead and
he died in 1882. Going to New Mexico for his
health his last days were spent in the home of
a daughter, where he died in 1882. His wife
had passed away in Macomb county, Michi-
gan, dying in i860.
Charles S. Dietrich was a young man of
sixteen years when he came with his parents to
Clinton county, locating where he now resides,
and he assisted in improving the home farm,
remaining with his father upon that place up
to the time of the latter' s death. He subse-
quently had charge of the work of clearing and
developing the property, and after his father's
death he bought out the widow and other heirs
and succeeded to the ownership of the farm,
now owning one hundred and thirty acres. A
commodious and pleasant brick residence has
been built by him and he has also built two
good barns so that the improvements upon the
place are in keeping with the modern ideas of
the progressive farmer. He has likewise planted
an orchard and year by year cultivates his
fields which in course of time bring forth good
harvests. He likewise raises pure blooded
Holstein cattle and has some high grade stock.
For about ten years he engaged in the manu-
facture of tile and brick upon his farm and the
brick used in the construction of his home was
burned in his kilns. He has also laid several
miles of tile on his farm which is well drained
until the fields have become extremely pro-
ductive. Everything about the place is indica-
tive of his careful supervision and in his work
he is extremely practical, his labors proving a
resultant factor in the acquirement of a grati-
fying success.
Mr. Dietrich was married in Bath township,
Clinton county, December 25, 1883, to Miss
Ada Chapman, who was born in Macomb
county but was reared in Clinton county, a
daughter of Isaac Chapman, now of Lansing,
Michigan. She pursued her education in the
schools of Ovid and of Lansing and success-
fully engaged in teaching in Clinton county
prior to her marriage. There were three chil-
dren born of this union : Nellie, who is a gradu-
ate of the high school of St. Johns and for one
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
313
year was a teacher, is now a student in the
State Normal School. Clara is now a student
at Laingsburg. Clarence completes the family.
In his political views Mr. Dietrich has
alway been a republican and is now serving as
justice of the peace in Victor township. He
has likewise been a member of the school board
and in this connection has done effective serv-
ice in promoting the cause of education by
employing competent teachers and upholding
the standard of the schools. His wife and
children are members of the Methodist Episco-
pal church and both Mr. and Mrs. Dietrich
belong to the local Grange. He is a thrifty and
prosperous farmer and careful business man,
well known in St. Johns and Clinton county,
and his genuine worth and upright character
have made him worthy the regard in which he
is uniformly held.
RAY T. FULLER, M. D.
Dr. Ray T. Fuller, who is accorded a good
patronage which is the public expression of
confidence and trust in his professional skill
and ability, was born in Carson county, Michi-
gan, on the 15th of October, 1875, his parents
being Thomas and Emily (Davis) Fuller, na-
tives of Steuben and Genesee counties, New
York, respectively. The Fullers were an old
Vermont family and tradition states that their
ancestors came to America on the Mayflower,
two brothers crossing the Atlantic on that his-
toric voyage. Solomon Fuller, the great-
grandfather, removed from the Connecticut
valley to New York. The Fullers have long
been a family of farmers and Dr. Fuller of this
review is the only one who has entered profes-
sional life. His maternal grandfather, Thomas
Davis, was likewise born in the Empire state
and came to Michigan in i860, settling in
Carson City, where he died in 1900, at the age
of seventy-four years, while his wife is still
living. But two of his family, however, came
to Michigan, Franklin and Thomas, the latter
the father of our subject, arriving in this state
about forty years ago, settling in Montcalm
county when it was an almost unbroken wil-
derness. He is still living there upon the old
family homestead, on which his son, Dr. Ful-
ler, was born. His wife came with her parents
to Michigan when a maiden of ten summers,
her father taking up land from the government
and transforming the tract into a productive
farm. Her mother, Mrs. Caroline Davis, is
still living and enjoying good health for one of
her years.
Thomas Fuller was twice married, and by
the first union had a daughter and a son : Fran-
ces, now the wife of William Davis, who is liv-
ing on the old Davis homestead at Carson
City, and Scott, who resides at Aberdeen,
South Dakota. Unto Thomas and Emily
(Davis) Fuller were born two daughters and a
son, the sisters of the Doctor being Ada and
Eva Fuller, both of whom are successful
teachers.
Dr. Fuller pursued his preliminary educa-
tion in the district schools and afterward at-
tended the high school at Carson City, Michi-
gan. Determining upon the practice of med-
icine as a life work he matriculated in the
University of Michigan in 1895 as a student in
the medical department. He was graduated
from the Saginaw Valley Medical College, at
Saginaw, Michigan, on the 14th of May, 1903,
and located for practice at Belding, this state,
where he remained for nine months. On the
1 2th of February, 1904, he removed to Eagle,
where he opened an office and has since suc-
cessfully followed his profession, soon demon-
strating his ability to cope with the intricate
problems that continually confront the physi-
cian so that his patronage has constantly
increased.
On the 31st of October, 1899, Dr. Fuller
was married to Miss Ida E. Stuckey, a daugh-
ter of Henry B. and Florence (Moore)
Stuckey, of Gratiot county, Michigan. They
have one child, Paul M. Dr. Fuller has frater-
nal relations with the Maccabees and the
Gleaners and is examining physician for the
latter. He is yet a young man but possesses
ability of superior order, owing his success to
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
earnest study of the principles of medicine and
his conscientious regard of the obligations of
the profession.
GILES J. GIBBS.
"Through struggles to success" contains in
brief the life history of Giles J. Gibbs, who,
encountering many difficulties and obstacles in
his earlier business career, overcame these by
persistent and earnest purpose and as the years
passed he prospered. He was for a long period
connected with mercantile interests in St. Johns,
also in real-estate dealing, and he possessed the
energy and firm purpose that enabled him to
carry forward to successful completion what-
ever he undertook. He was born in Jefferson
county, New York, September 3, 1827, his par-
ents being David and Hannah Gibbs, the for-
mer a native of Connecticut, and the latter of
New York. The father was a soldier in the
war of 18 1 2 and died from injuries sustained
while in battle. His wife passed away whetl
their son Giles was only eight years of age.
The Gibbs family was established in New Eng-
land in an early day in the colonization of the
new world. Giles J. Gibbs is the youngest of
four children and the only one now living, the
others having been Spencer W., Emily and
Matilda.
Deprived of a mother's care at a very early
age, Giles J. Gibbs had no opportunity for ac-
quiring an education, but he was early forced
to begin life on his own account, meeting its
difficult problems and facing its hardships. He
was employed as a farm hand and in this wTay
earned two hundred dollars which he held in
notes against his employers. He worked for a
Mr. Benedict and while there the family urged
him to attend school, which he finally concluded
to do, accompanying William Benedict and
William Prine to Spring Arbor College, where
he pursued his studies until his funds were ex-
hausted. He mastered the English grammar
and made good progress in mathematics but at
length found himself fifty dollars in debt, which
he was enabled to discharge, however, the fol-
lowing season. Going to Jackson, Michigan,,
he worked by the month as a farm hand, earn-
ing a little money in that way, and then made
arrangements for a farm of his own, purchas-
ing sixty acres by the payment of fifty dollars
in cash, giving notes for the remainder.
Mr. Gibbs was then married in Branch
county and took his wife to the new home, but
he finally sold that farm and removed to a tract
of land in Ionia county, locating in the village
of Matherton, where he was living at the time
of his wife's death. By wagon he traveled to-
Coldwater with his child, six months old, in
order to leave the little one with relatives. Re-
turning to Jackson he then engaged in the dray-
ing business and later he turned his attention
to the grocery business, but after conducting
the same for a year and a half his entire stock
was destroyed by fire. Receiving his insurance,
he paid his debts but had nothing left with
which to resume business. He then began
traveling for a drug house in Indianapolis,
which he represented for a year at a salary of
eight hundred dollars.
In 1857 Mr. Gibbs arrived in St. Johns but
the site of the city was almost covered with-
forest trees and he felt that he would not care-
to remain. However, being offered a position,
he concluded to stay and later bought a business
lot on Main street of Alvin Walker. In 1858
he married again and for two years thereafter
he followed various business pursuits. Later
he built a store on his lot and stocked it with
groceries, making some money during the
period of the Civil war. He then bought forty
acres of land surrounding his present home,
which he subdivided and sold as village lots,
realizing a handsome profit upon the invest-
ment. He also engaged in the dry-goods busi-
ness but did not find that a paying venture. He
was in partnership with William Lazelle, under
the firm style of Gibbs & Lazelle, and they sold
out to D. C. Hurd. Mr. Gibbs afterward gave
his attention for a time to his real-estate oper-
ations and not only sold off the original forty-
acre tract but also purchased and disposed of
additional property. In 1867 he again em-
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GILES J. GIBBS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
317
barked in the grocery business, building a store
on Clinton avenue, and for fifteen years he con-
tinued successfully in the trade, selling out to
O. P. Dewitt in 1882. He then retired from
active commercial pursuits and has since en-
joyed a well earned rest, giving his attention
merely to the supervision of his invested inter-
ests. He has built two brick blocks on Clinton
avenue since the destruction of the wooden
building by fire. He gave close and unre-
mitting attention to his business for many years
and it was this that now makes it possible for
him to enjoy in comfort the evening of life,
unburdened by the cares of business.
On the 25th of March, 185 1, Mr. Gibbs
was married to Miss Elizabeth Jane Graham,
a daughter of David Graham, of Branch county,
Michigan. She died April 8, 1855, and their
daughter Lois A. died at the age of fifteen
months, but she left a son, Judson D., who is
now living in San Francisco, California. He
has taken a prominent part in political affairs
and during President Cleveland's second ad-
ministration was appointed collector of the port
of San Francisco. For his second wife Mr.
Gibbs chose Sarah J. Yound, a daughter of
Daniel Yound, of Ionia county. They were
married January 1, 1858, and traveled life's
journey together until May 20, 1905, when
Mrs. Gibbs passed away, at the age of seventy
years. She was to her husband a faithful com-
panion and helpmate, aiding him in every pos-
sible way in his efforts to secure a home and
competence for he was a poor man when they
were married. By her help, encouragement,
perseverance and sacrifice, he was enabled to
overcome all obstacles and lay the foundation
for his present prosperity. She was prompt in
action, quick to see and grasp any opportunity,
and the words "it can't be done" never sprang
to her lips. She was ever hopeful and faithful,
understanding perfectly that "I can" is king
and "I can't" a servant. Withal she was a
most loving and unselfish wife and mother.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs were born two daugh-
ters : Alma Elizabeth, who died May 20, 1862,
in her fourth year; and Lizzie Liroque, who
lives with her father in St. Johns.
Mr. Gibbs visited California in 1890, but up
to that time he had given little attention to
travel or enjoyment, his attention being claimed
entirely by his business pursuits. In politics
he is a democrat but he has never been active
in the party nor cared for prominence in that
direction. He is a self-made man in the fullest
sense of that oft misused term, his prosperity
in life being due to his industry, integrity and
an unfaltering purpose, which has enabled him
in the face of difficulties and discouragements
to press steadily forward. He has now passed
the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey.
lewis g. Mcknight.
Lewis G. McKnight, a prominent represent-
ative of the grain trade in St. Johns, is a native
of Ohio, born July 26, 1845. His paternal
grandfather, Robert McKnight, was for many
years a resident of Ohio, where he spent his
last days, farming being his life occupation.
The family is of Scotch lineage and was
founded in America by three brothers of the
name who came from the land of the heather
about four generations ago. They settled in
different localities of Pennsylvania and one of
these was James McKnight, the great-grand-
father of our subject. William McKnight, the
father, was born in Ohio and largely spent his
youth and early manhood in that state, whence
he came to Michigan in 1849. He was married
yi Deerfield, Ohio, to Miss Lois Richards, who
represented an old Vermont family, her father,
Obadiah Richards, removing from the Green
Mountain State to New York after his mar-
riage, and it was in the latter state that Mrs.
McKnight was born. Her parents had six chil-
dren, she being the second in order of birth in
a family of three sons and three daughters.
William McKnight was a minister of the
Methodist Episcopal church and filled a num-
ber of pulpits in Michigan at an early day. He
continued in active pastoral work up to the
time of his death, which occurred in 1872,
when he was fifty-eight years of age. His in-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
fluence was of no restricted order and he took
an active part in the moral development of
various communities in the middle part of the
nineteenth century, while his influence yet re-
mains as a blessed benediction to many who
knew him. His wife survived until 1898, de-
parting this life at the advanced age of eighty
years. She was a devoted mother and a faith-
ful friend, possessing qualities of heart and
mind that endeared her to all with whom she
came in contact. Rev. and Mrs. William Mc-
Knight become the parents of three children,
but Robert died at the age of twelve years and
James at the age of fifteen years.
Lewis G. McKnight, the youngest and only
surviving member of the family, acquired his
early education in the common schools. He
began farming for himself on the old home-
stead, where he remained until 189 1, when he
removed to St. Johns. Four years later he
purchased the Brown Brothers Elevator and
has since continued active in business as a
dealer in grain, coal, lime and cement. He
does business to the amount of over forty
thousand dollars per year and is one of the
leading representatives of the trade in this part
of the state. Watchful of the business indica-
tions pointing to success he has, through the
utilization of opportunity, through close appli-
cation and unfaltering diligence, gained a
creditable position as a representative of com-
mercial interests in Clinton county.
On the 23d of August, 1866, Mr. McKnight
was married to Miss Eliza Pearl, a daughter
of Stephen Pearl, of Greenbush township^
They have one daughter, Daisy L. Mr. Pearl,
father of Mrs. McKnight, came from New
York to Clinton county in 1837, settling in
Ovid township, whence he afterward removed
to Greenbush township. He represented this
district in both the house and senate of the
state legislature and was treasurer of his
county for ten years. He also engaged in
merchandising for a time at Grand Ledge and
was a man who wielded a wide influence in
public thought and action, while his record
conferred honor and dignity on the county
which honored him.
Mr. McKnight holds membership in the
Methodist Episcopal church and in the Odd
Fellows lodge, relations which indicate the
character of the man and his loyal support to
principles that develop along lines that com-
mand confidence, good will and honor in every
land and clime. He is not an active partisan
in politics but for two years he served as town-
ship treasurer of Greenbush.
CHARLES EDDY.
Charles Eddy, who has been associated
with business interests in Elsie for twenty-
seven years, has intimate knowledge concern-
ing the history of the state, its progress and
development, for he has resided within its
borders since 1856, while in Clinton county he
has made his home since 1878. The Eddy
family is of English lineage and his ancestors
were among the pilgrims who sought refuge
in New England, crossing the Atlantic on the
Handmaid, a historic sailing vessel of the early
part of the seventeenth century. John R. Eddy,
the grandfather, was a native of New Eng-
land and removed to New York, locating at
Sacket Harbor. Reuben Eddy, the father,
was born in Vermont and was reared in the
Empire state, where he remained until he
sought a home in what was then the far west.
He made his way to Ohio, becoming one of the
first settlers of Lorain county. He was there
reared and married, Miss Anna Seigsworth
becoming his wife. She was a native of
England and when eight years of age crossed
the Atlantic to the new world with her par-
ents, the family home being established in New
York, while later representatives of the name
went to Ohio. Reuben Eddy opened up a
farm in the Buckeye state and there reared
his family, his remaining days being passed
upon the old homestead, which he had trans-
formed from a wild tract into a richly culti-
vated farm. His wife survived him for a few
years. They were worthy pioneer people of
Ohio and took an active and helpful part in
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
3i9
reclaiming their portion of the state for the
uses of the white man. In their family were
three sons and one daughter, of whom Charles
is the eldest. John is still living in Ohio, while
Luther Eddy is now a resident of Elsie. Ann-
ette is also residing in Ohio.
Charles Eddy, whose name introduces this
record, was the first white child born in Cam-
den township, Lorain county, Ohio, his natal
day being December 18, 1835. The common
schools afforded him his early educational priv-
ileges and he afterward attended Oberlin Col-
lege, thus acquiring a good education. He pos-
sesses natural mechanical talent and skill and
in early life worked at the carpenter's and join-
er's trade. Thinking to enjoy better business
advantages in a newer district of the middle
west, he made his way to Michigan, locating
first at Fairfield, Shiawassee county, where he
was employed in a repair and gun shop, mak-
ing and repairing guns and doing other kinds
of mechanical work. He continued at Fair-
field for several years and in 1878 removed to
Elsie, where he established himself in busi-
ness. Here he opened a stock of jewelry and
was also engaged in repairing watches and
clocks. He remained an active factor in the
business life of the city until the fall of 1904
and belongs to that class of representative
men, who, while promoting individual success,
also contribute to the general prosperity and
public growth. He is known as an enterpris-
ing merchant and a man of keen business sa-
gacity. He purchased land, built a business
house and residence and also invested in two
tracts of farm land, so that his property inter-
ests became extensive and valuable.
Mr. Eddy was married in Iowa to Miss
Sarah B. Reynolds, who was born in New
York, reared in Ohio and afterward went to
Iowa. There is one daughter by this mar-
riage, Ida J., now the wife of Frank Clemens,
a farmer of Elsie. Politically Mr. Eddy is a
stanch republican, who has continuously sup-
ported the men and measures of the party
since casting his first presidential ballot for
Abraham Lincoln in i860. He was elected
and served as township treasurer, was super-
visor and clerk of Fairfield township, Shiawas-
see county, and was elected township clerk at
Elsie, in which capacity he served for several
terms. He acted for fifteen consecutive years
as village clerk, for four years as deputy sur-
veyor and as county surveyor for ten years.
His capability in office is indicated by the fact
that he has been so long retained in the posi-
tions to which he has been called. He is well
known in St. Johns, Elsie and Clinton county
as a man of wide experience and excellent busi-
ness ability, of tried integrity and worth, and
in whatever position he has been found he has
proved a faithful and efficient officer, while
in business life his activity and reliability have
been numbered among his strong and salient
characteristics.
JOHN FREMONT SKINNER.
John Fremont Skinner, living on section 21,
Essex township, is one of the active and pros-
perous farmers of his locality, his possessions
aggregating two hundred and forty acres in
two farms in addition to the home property of
eighty acres, which is a well improved tract of
land. Mr. Skinner is one of the native sons of
the county, his birth having occurred in Essex
township on the 13th of June, 1856. His
father, Horace M. Skinner, was a native of
the Green Mountain state, born in Montpelier,
Vermont, in 1819. .There he remained until he
had attained his majority and when a young
man came westward to Michigan with an elder
brother, arriving in this state about 1840. He
first located in Eaton county and later in Clin-
ton county, settling in Essex township. He
was married here to a widow, Mrs. Eliza Ann
North, nee Everett. In order to establish a
home of his own Mr. Skinner purchased wild
timber land in Essex township, which he cleared
and improved, developing an excellent farm of
three hundred and twenty acres. Subsequently
he bought more land and became one of the
prosperous and prominent agriculturists of his
community, winning success in his business un-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
dertakings. His life was devoted to general
agricultural pursuits and upon the home farm
which he developed he reared his family and
made his home until called to his final rest,
passing away on the 5th of December, 1895.
He was three times married.
John F. Skinner is one of a family of two
sons and two daughters born of his father's
second marriage. He remained upon the old
family homestead until he had attained his ma-
jority and assisted in carrying on the work of
the farm. He then located on the farm which
he now makes his home and this he began to
clear and improve. He lived in a log house for
a number of years but in 1902 erected a neat
brick residence, which is one of the attractive
rural homes in Clinton county. It is built in
modern style of architecture, supplied with fur-
nace heat and equipped with other modern
conveniences. Mr. Skinner with three sisters
inherited one hundred and sixty acres of the
old home farm and he operates that tract of
land in connection with his own homestead
He makes a business of raising Shropshire
sheep and now has a flock of ninety ewes. He
also has two pure blooded registered rams. To
some extent he engages in raising horses and
all of his stock upon his farm are of good
grades.
Mr. Skinner was married in Ionia, Michi-
gan, August 5, 1880, to Miss Maria L. Ryan,
a native of Massachusetts, born in Milford,
and a daughter of William Ryan. She was
reared and educated at St.. Johns, where her
father and the family located in t86i. Mr.
and Mrs. Skinner now have three children :
Bernice N., Anita F. and Carroll J. The sec-
ond daughter is the wife of William Smith,
who assists Mr. Skinner in carrying on the
home farm.
Interested in community affairs Mr. Skin-
ner is a champion of progressive measures and
has done much to aid in the public progress and
improvement in his locality. He has always
voted the republican ticket since casting his
first presidential ballot for Rutherford B.
Hayes in 1876. He was elected and served for
one term as highway commissioner, but never
sought or cared for office. He is an exemplary
representative of the Masonic fraternity, hold-
ing membership in the lodge at Maple Rapids,
and he and his wife belong to the Eastern
Star. The fact that many of his stanchest
friends are numbered among those who have
known him from his boyhood days down to the
present is an indication that his has been an
active and honorable career.
ROBERT B. BURT.
'Squire Robert B. Burt, living on section 15,
Essex township, is carrying on his farm work
in a manner that indicates his thorough
familiarity with all departments of agricultural
life and also a determined purpose that has
resulted in success in his labors. He owns one
hundred and sixty acres, constituting one of
the good farms of the locality. He was born
in Putnam county, New York, on the 30th of
November, 1832, a son of Lewis Burt, a native
of Connecticut, in which state he was reared.
When a young man, however, he removed to
Putnam county, New York, where he was mar-
ried to Miss Rachel Drew, a native of the Em-
pire state. Mr. Burt was a carpenter and joiner
by trade, following that pursuit in the early
years of his manhood but later he turned his
attention to farming. His last years were
passed in Yates county, New York. In his
family wrere four sons and two daughters, of
whom Robert B. Burt is now the only surviv-
ing member. He removed with his family from
Putnam to Yates county, New York, where he
was reared, attending the public and high
schools of his home locality. He acquired a
good academic education and was a teacher
through six winter seasons in Yates and Tioga
counties, proving a capable and popular edu-
cator.
On the 28th of May, 1867, m Tioga county,
Squire Burt was united in marriage to Miss
Lois M. Galpin, a native of the Empire state.
He then followed farming and also engaged in
teaching through the winter seasons. In 186S
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ROBERT B. BURT.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
323
he removed westward to Michigan, located
where he now resides, having at first one hun-
dred acres of land, of which thirty-five acres
have been cleared. He at once began to clear
and cultivate the remainder, grub out the
stumps, cut away the brush and in course of
time transformed the tract into productive
fields. Some years later he added more land
and as his financial resources have permitted he
has continued the improvement of the property,
building a good residence and barns and adding
all modern equipments found upon a model
farm of the twentieth century. He is a prac-
tical mechanic and did most of the building
himself. He has planted some fruit upon his
place and his farm work has been carefully con-
ducted and managed so that his efforts have
been a source of gratifying income.
In 1893 Squire Burt was called upon to
mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the
4th of April of that year, leaving two children :
Edwin, who is married and lives upon a part
of the home farm and has two children, Flor-
ence and Edna. The daughter, Ida Burt, be-
came the wife of Deloss Hicks, a farmer of
this township, and has two sons, Robert and
Leon. On October 11, 1900, Mr. Burt was
again married in Tioga county, his second union
being with Miss Lucy B. Manning, who was
born and reared in New York and was a teacher
before her marriage.
Squire Burt is prominent in community af-
fairs and his efforts have been of practical
value along many lines of progress. In politics
he is a republican where national issues are
involved but at local elections votes independ-
ently, supporting the best men. He has been
elected and served for twelve conseeutive years
as justice of the peace, was also school inspector
one term, drain commissioner for eleven years
and for many years school director. He has
also served as treasurer and assessor and in all
positions of honor and trust that have been
conferred upon him has discharged his duties
with a promptness and fidelity that have won
him high encomiums from his fellow townsmen.
His interest in the walfare and progress of the
community is deep and sincere and his loyalty
to the general good is above question. He is
therefore justly numbered among the public-
spirited citizens and is well classed with the
progressive farmers of Essex township.
WILLIAM J. DAGGETT.
William J. Daggett, proprietor of the first
foundry of St. Johns, which he is conducting
under the name of the St. Johns Iron Works,
is a representative business man of Clinton
county, enterprising and watchful of indica-
tions pointing to success. Through his utiliza-
tion of opportunity and the development and
exercise of his native talents and energies he
has won a creditable position in industrial cir-
cles. He was born in Eagle township, Wyo-
ming county, New York, May 27, 1853, his par-
ents being Reuben E. and Mary A. (Wright)
Daggett, both of whom were natives of the
Empire state. The wife and mother died,
however, when her son William J. was but two
years of age and in 1856 Reuben E. Daggett
removed from New York to Clinton county,
settling in Greenbush township, where he pur-
chased a farm of eighty acres and with the ex-
ception of a brief period spent in Dallas town-
ship he remained a resident of the former
township up to the time of his demise, which
occurred on the 16th of April, 1903, when he
was seventy-five years of age. Reuben E.
Daggett had three brothers and one, George
W. Daggett, is now living in Gratiot county,
Michigan. The others, Charles S. and Loren
L., are both deceased. William J. Daggett is
one of a family of four children : Edward W.,
who is living in Duplain township; Mary E.,
the wife of John Prentice, of Pbntiac, Michi-
gan, and William J. and James W., twins. The
latter is now engaged in farming in Greenbush
township.
William J. Daggett, brought to the west
when about three years of age, has spent
almost his entire life in Michigan. His edu-
cation was acquired in the district schools and
when twenty years of age he began farming on
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
his own account in Dallas township, where he
remained for four years. He then purchased a
farm in Washington township, Gratiot county
Michigan, which he improved and cultivated
for twenty-one years. In his agricultural pur-
suits he wTon a fair measure of success, care-
fully cultivating his fields and carrying on the
work of the farm, so that year after year his
capital was increased. In the spring of 1900
he came to St. Johns and purchased a half in-
terest in the St. Johns Iron Works of George
F. Cross, thus entering into partnership with
George Weller. Mr. Daggett was made presi-
dent of the company and after Mr. Weller's
death he purchased his interest in the business,
becoming sole owner in January, 1902. He
has since conducted the industry under the
name of the St. Johns Iron Works. This was
the first foundry of the city and has been in
operation for more than forty years. Through-
out his entire life Mr. Daggett has displayed
exceptional mechanical ingenuity and is the in-
ventor and patentee of W. J. Daggett's pat-
ented double expansion cast iron boat culverts,
varying in size from ten to forty-eight inches
and costing from ninety cents to eight dollars
per foot. This has been patented to cover both
the United States and Canada. Among the
numerous articles manufactured in the foundry
are snow plow rollers six and a half feet in
diameter which sweeps the snow for a width
of sixteen feet. The output of the foundry
also includes small rollers and stone boats and
the business is now large and profitable, the
plant being equipped with the latest improved
machinery to facilitate the work which is car-
ried on along progressive business lines.
Politically Mr. Daggett is a democrat and
is a liberal-minded citizen whose aid and co-
operation can be counted upon to further
progressive measures for the general good.
His interest centers in his family, he being a
man of strong domestic tastes. In 1877 he
was married to Miss Nettie Ridneour, a daugh-
ter of David Ridneour, of Bengal township,
Clinton county, and they have become the par-
ents of thirteen children, of whom three died in
early youth, while ten are yet living, namely:
Elva, A., the wife of Merton Terry, of St.
Johns; Floyd E., who married Nellie Holmes,
of Ypsilanti, Michigan ; Herman and Herbert,
twins; Jay, Netia, Merrett, Ruby, Lewis and
Nettie Arlene, all of whom are at home. The
various members of the family occupy an en-
viable position in the social circles in which
they move and during their residence in the
city Mr. and Mrs. Daggett have gained warm
friends here.
CHARLES F. CRELL.
Charles F. Crell, who is engaged in taking
contracts for building cement and steel bridges,
makes his home in Elsie, and is an enterprising
and prominent business man of Clinton
county, wherein he has made his home since
1879. He is a native of New York, having
been born in Rensselaer county, on the nth of
June, i860. His father, William Crell, was a
native of Germany, in which country he grew
to mature years, and when a young man emi-
grated to the United States, locating in
Rensselaer county, New York, where he was
married to Miss Mary Nolan, a native of Ire-
land. Mr. Crell was a stonemason by trade
and followed that business during his active
business life. In 1881 he removed westward to
Michigan and located in St. Johns.
Charles F. Crell of this review was reared to
manhood in the Empire state and acquired his
education in the common schools. He came
west to Michigan in 1879 and began working
on a farm by the month, being thus employed
for five years. Following hi^ marriage, in
1883, he located on a 'farm north of St. Johns,
where he made his home for a year, removing
on the expiration of that period to Duplain
township, where he bought a farm which he
still owns. He was successfully engaged in
agricultural pursuits there for eighteen years
and now owns one hundred and seventy acres
of land in two farms, both of which are well
improved. His life has been characterized by
unflagging industry and perseverance and his
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
325
efforts have been crowned with the success that
alwavs follows earnest labor.
Mr. Crell was first married in Washtenaw
county, Michigan, on the 7th of February,
1883, the lady of his choice being- Miss Melissa
Van Duyne, a daughter of John Van Duyne,
an early settler of Clinton county. There were
two children by that union. Subsequently Mr.
Crell was married in Duplain township to Miss
Alice Bond, who was born, reared and edu-
cated in Clinton county and is a daughter of
Stephen Bond, one of the early settlers here.
The children of his first marriage are Elsie M.
and Ralph W. Crell, and by the second mar-
riage there is one son, Harrison B. Crell.
In the vear 1902 Mr. Crell removed to Elsie,
where he bought a lot and built a neat resi-
dence, where he has since resided. Politically
he is identified with the republican party and
has taken quite an active interest in its work,
especially in behalf of its local successes. He
was elected commissioner of highways and by
re-election served for two terms. During his
incumbency in the office he began building
concrete bridges and made a specialty of this
kind of work. He later organized a company
for the construction of concrete bridges and
has now built up an extensive business, em-
ploying at the present time three different
forces of men, having thirty-five men in his
service altogether. Some of the bridges built
by them in the past year (1905) are fifty-
foot spans. They have built bridges in Clinton,
Gratiot and adjoining counties and have
bridge contracts now for over a year ahead,
working with their present force. Mr. Crell is
active manager and at the head of the Elsie
Concrete Bridge Company and the success of
the enterprise is attributable in very large
measure to his efforts. The company also
handles and deals in structural steel and in the
year 1905 have sold more than four hundred
thousand pounds of structural steel and five
carloads of steel culverts.
Mr. Crell is a man of sound judgment, prac-
tical in all that he does, and in his business ca-
reer has met with gratifying success. He be-
longs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows at Elsie. He is likewise a member of the
encampment of Maccabees and the Fraternal
Insurance and his standing in social as well as
business circles is a high and creditable one.
WARREN AND ERI POTTER.
Warren and Eri Potter, living on section 22,
Olive township, are among the wrell known and
prosperous farmers of this community and
own and operate two hundred and thirty acres,
constituting a valuable farm. They are native
sons of Michigan, Warren Potter having been
born in Oakland county, February 2, 1850,
while his brother, Eri Potter, was born in La-
peer county, March 14, 1852. Their father,
Calvin M. Potter, was born in Chili, New
York, in 1821. When a young man he came
west to Michigan with his father, Joel Potter,
who removed from the state of New York and
became one of the first settlers of Oakland
county. There he entered one hundred and
sixty acres of land from the government., the
tract lying in the midst of a dense forest, but
he at once began to clear and improve the place
and made thereon a good farm. Calvin M.
Potter was married in Oakland county to
Caroline Summers, who was born in New Jer-
sey and was brought to Michigan in her early
childhood days, being reared and educated in
Oakland county. Her father, William Sum-
mers, died in New Jersey, and Mrs. Summers
and her family afterward came to the west,
settling in Oakland county, Michigan. Calvin
M. Potter purchased his father's old home
place and resided thereon, spending his last
days on that tract of land, which had been en-
tered from the government. His attention was
always given to general farming pursuits and
he died on the old homestead in 1856. His
wife survived him for a number of years and
spent her last days with her sons in Olive
township, passing away January 29, 1896,
when seventy- four years of age.
The Potter brothers were reared upon the
old homestead place in Oakland county, but
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
eventually sold that farm and in 1878 came to
Clinton county, purchasing the farm upon
which they now reside. They first bought one
hundred and twenty acres and at once began to
till the fields and made further improvements
on the property. In this work they prospered
and as the years passed they added to the farm
until two hundred and thirty acres are now
included within its boundaries. They have
erected good buildings and well kept fences
divide the place into fields of convenient size.
An orchard also yields its fruits in season and
the sale of the farm products brings a good
annual financial return. In connection with the
cultivation of cereals they make a business of
raising and feeding stock and they have a fine
rock well one hundred and sixty-five feet deep,
which affords an abundance of good water for
the stock. They are breeders and dealers in
Poland-China hogs but make a specialty of
Shropshire sheep and in the raising of both
grain and stock are meeting with success. The
brothers are advocates of democratic princi-
ples but have never been aspirants for office.
Warren Potter is a carpenter and joiner by
trade and followed that pursuit' for twelve
years in Oakland and Clinton counties but now
gives his undivided attention to his farming in-
terests. Eri Potter is a member of Dewitt
lodge, I. O. O. R, in which he has filled all of
the chairs, is a past grand and has been a
representative to the grand lodge. The broth-
ers enjoy in high measure the esteem of those
with whom they have been associated because
of their activity and reliability in business
affairs.
SAMUEL TUCKER.
Samuel Tucker, who ^recently sold his farm
on section 16, Dewitt township, with the in-
tention of retiring and making his home in the
village of Dewitt, was one of the prosperous
and well-to-do farmers of his locality and his
landed possessions comprised two hundred and
twelve acres of rich and productive soil, the
home farm being pleasantly situated within
two miles of the village of Dewitt. He dates
his residence in Clinton county from 1865 and
is one of the worthy citizens that the Empire
state has furnished to Michigan, for his birth
occurred in Chautauqua county on the 29th of
April, 1834. His father, Samuel W. Tucker,
was also a native of New York and was a son
of James Tucker, one of the early settlers of
Pennsylvania, who in later years removed to
New York. In the state of his nativity Samuel
W. Tucker was married to Miss Lucina Rew,
also a native of New York. They began their
domestic life upon a farm and reared their fam-
ily in Chautauqua and in Erie counties, spend-
ing their entire lives there. They had four
sons and five daughters, all of whom reached
years of maturity, married and became heads
of families with the exception of one son, but
Samuel Tucker, and his sister, Mrs. Lucina
Peters, of Berrien county, Michigan, are the
only ones now living.
Samuel Tucker was reared to manhood in
Chautauqua county, New York, and when a
young man went to Erie county, where he at-
tended school and worked upon a farm by the
month. Later he rented a farm for a few years
and thus made his start upon an independent
business venture. He was married in Erie
county, December 11, 1859, to Miss Eliza Jane
Thompkins, a native of that county and a
daughter of James Thompkins, who was born
in New Jersey and married Phoebe Anne Sear-
ing, likewise a native of New Jersey. Mrs.
Tucker was reared in Erie county, completed
her literary education in Clarence Academy and
was a successful teacher for some years before
her marriage. Following their marriage Mr.
and Mrs. Tucker began their domestic life in
Genesee county, where he carried on general
agricultural pursuits for several years, during
which time one son was born unto them there.
The year 1865 witnessed their removal to
Michigan and Mr. Tucker bought and located
upon the farm where they resided until his re-
tirement in 1905, when he sold the farm to his
son. He first became owner of eighty acres of
wild timber land and in the midst of the forest
began opening up a farm. The first summer he
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MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL TUCKER.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
329
rented a log house but after a short time this
pioneer cabin was replaced by a small frame
dwelling. As his financial resources increased
he bought forty acres of land adjoining his
original tract and from time to time has further
extended the boundaries of his property until
he now has two hundred and twelve acres, on
which he has erected a good, neat and substan-
tial residence, also good barns and outbuildings.
In fact the farm has three sets of buildings upon
it. There are large quantities of fruit and no
equipment of a model farm of the twentieth
century is lacking, for Mr. Tucker has ever
been a hard-working, industrious man, who has
likewise kept in touch with modern progress in
agricultural lines. He cleared the land and
made a well improved farm and was considered
one of the successful agriculturists of the town-
ship.
He and his family experienced many of the
hardships and privations incident to frontier
life, for when they located here no roads had
been laid out and they had no neighbors. In-
deed it seemed as if the work of progress and
improvement had scarcely been begun in this
portion of the state and Mr. Tucker has aided
largely in advancing the work of general im-
provement. Unto him and his estimable wife,
who has indeed been a worthy helpmate to him
on life's journey, have been born four children.
Their eldest son, Frank, reached manhood and
married Ida Averill' but died here in 1889.
Cash married Drusilla Smith and they have a
daughter, Ethel, who is with them in their home
in Dewitt. Earl married Iva Sloan and they
are also living in Dewitt. Fred married
Josephine Pierce and is a resident farmer of
Olive township.
Politically Mr. Tucker is an earnest repub-
lican, having supported the principles of the
party since its organization in 1856, but he has
never been an office seeker nor would he con-
sent to become a candidate for political prefer-
ment. He has devoted his time to his farm
with excellent success. A member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity, he is identified with Dewitt
lodge, has filled all of its chairs and has been
past master and representative to the grand
lodge of the state. Both he and his wife are
charter members of the Eastern Star and they
are well known in Clinton and Ingham counties,
where Mr. Tucker is recognized as a man of
good business ability, of strict integrity of char-
acter and worth, enjoying and meriting the
confidence and esteem of the community.
JAMES C. DAVIS.
The business enterprises of Bath find a
worthy representative in James C. Davis, who
for the past eleven years has been connected
with mercantile pursuits there. He was born
in Ingham county, Michigan, January 28,
1843, nis Parents being Chauncey and Ruth
(Smith) Davis, both of whom were natives of
New York, the former born in Chenango
county and the latter in Oneida county. The
father carried on farming for a number of
years in the county of his nativity and on com-
ing west to Michigan, settled in Ingham
county, about 1830, being a pioneer resident
who found an undeveloped region covered
with the native forest and in the midst of the
green woods he hewed out a farm, entering his
land from the government. This he cleared
and fenced, making a good home but the fam-
ily experienced all the hardships and privations
incident to pioneer life as may well be im-
agined for few roads had been laid out through
the forest and their nearest neighbor was seven
miles away. They had to depend largely upon
the products of the farm for all that they had
as it was an arduous task to go to mill or mar-
ket and money necessary for the purchases was
then very scarce. As the years passed, how-
ever, the farm was developed and became
profitable. Eventually the father sold this land
and located on Pine lake, near the village where
he lived for a few years, when he again sold
out and bought a farm near the present site of
the Agricultural College. The latter place con-
tinued to be his home for ten or twelve years
and he once more disposed of his property
and took up his abode in Okemos, Ingham
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
county, where he purchased a sawmill and en-
gaged in the manufacture of lumber, continu-
ing at that place until his death, which oc-
curred when he was sixty-three years of age.
He had survived his wife for fifteen years.
James C. Davis was reared to manhood in
Ingham county and his common-school educa-
tion was supplemented by study in an old
academy of pioneer times and in the Agricul-
tural College. In early life he learned the
builder's trade, which he followed for thirty-
five years, becoming a contractor and builder
of Ingham and Clinton counties. He has
erected numerous buildings in these localities
and many substantial structures still stand as
monuments to his skill and handiwork. For
forty years he has resided in Clinton county
at intervals, but took up his abode permanently
here in 1880.
In July, 1872, in Lansing, occurred the
marriage of James C. Davis and Miss Ella M.
Smith, a native of Ingham county, who was
reared and educated there. They began their
domestic life where they reside, Mr. Davis
building the house. He has owned the land
for forty years and has placed substantial im-
provements thereon. He and his wife have
become the parents of a daughter and two
sons : Bessie, a well educated young lady, who
is now engaged in teaching; Chauncey, who is
married and resides at Bath; and Ralph, at
home.
Politically Mr. Davis is independent, sup-
porting men and measures regardless of partv
affiliation, but formerly was a republican. He
has served as township clerk for three terms
and has done effective and beneficial service
for the schools as a member of the school
board. He has himself been a teacher of orna-
mental penmanship and is an excellent scribe.
He is regarded as a successful all-around busi-
ness man, well known- in Lansing and St.
Johns, and at all times is found reliable and
faithful to the trust reposed in him. His resi-
dence in the village and county covers more
than a quarter of a century and he is regarded
as a gentleman of genuine worth, who from
pioneer times down to the present has been the
advocate and supporter of all measures that
have resulted in the progress and improvement
of this portion of the state.
WILLIAM SCHAVEY.
William Schavey is the owner of one of the
most attractive modern homes in Wacousta
and Watertown township, and he also has val-
uable farming interests, comprising three hun-
dred and twenty acres of rich and productive
land. He was born in Ohio, on the 22A of
August, 1865, h^ parents being Theodore and
Rebecca (Heitmeyer) Schavey, natives of
Germany and Ohio respectively. They were
for many years natives of the Buckeye state
and in -1 872 came to Michigan, settling in De-
witt township, Clinton county, while at the
present time they reside in the village of De-
witt. In their family were nine children : Wil-
liam; Carrie; Minnie, the wife of John Wer-
incke, of Ohio; Bertha, the wife of John
Wellman, of Watertown township ; Elsie ; Fred ;
Edward; Harrison and Harriet, the last two
being twins.
William Schavey was educated in the dis-
trict schools of Dewitt township and also in a
business college at Lansing, being thus well
equipped for the practical and responsible du-
ties of life. He then returned to the home
farm, where he remained until 1890, when he
bought land on section 17, Watertown town-
ship, to which he has since added until his pos-
sessions at the present time aggregate three
hundred and twenty acres. This is well im-
proved land and upon the home farm he has
good buildings and all modern equipments. In
1905 he erected a fine basement barn, thirty-
four by eighty-eight feet valued at fourteen
hundred dollars. He likewise has an attractive
residence which is one of the pleasing homes of
Wacousta and Watertown township.
On the 4th of February, 1890, was cele-
brated the marriage of Mr. Schavey and Miss
Emma Gross, a daughter of Hugo Gross, of
Watertown township. They now have five
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
33i
children, Archie, Earl, Clayton, Leon and
Florence. In his political views Mr. Schavey
is a republican and is active and influential in
support of the party. He served as township
clerk for one year, as supervisor for four terms
and in 1900 was elected sheriff* of Clinton
county, filling the office until the 1st of Jan-
uary, 1905, when he retired from the position
as he had entered it — with the confidence and
regard of the general public. He has since
1901 been a member of the Masonic fraternity
and also belongs to the Modern Woodmen
camp. During fifteen years of an active busi-
ness career he has worked his way steadily up-
ward to his present substantial position. His
name is an honored one on commercial paper
and his business record is such as any man
might be proud to possess. He commands the
entire confidence and respect of his business as-
sociates and is recognized as a man of marked
enterprise and determination.
CHARLES W. POPE.
Charles W. Pope, living on section 15, Vic-
tor township, where he devotes his energies to
the tilling of the soil and the raising of stock,
has for forty-five years made his home in Clin-
ton county and is therefore numbered among
its early settlers. Moieover, he belongs to that
class of representative American citizens who
while advancing individual interests also con-
tribute in large measure to public progress.
He has a deep and sincere attachment for
America, the land of his adoption. He was
born in Kentshire, England, August 7, 1848,
and his father, William Pope, was a native of
the same locality, where he was reared to man-
hood and married, the lady of his choice being
Miss Charlotte Sotherden, likewise a native of
England. They became the parents of three
sons and a daughter, including Albert Pope, a
merchant residing in Bloomfield, Ontario
county, New York; William; and Hattie, the
wife of a Mr. Bector, an undertaker, of Gene-
seo, New York. In the year 1850 the father
emigrated with his family to the new world and
made his way to Onondaga county, New York.
He afterward removed to Ontario county, that
state, where he resided for a short time, his
death there occurring about 1854. His wife
survived him and later married again.
Charles W. Pope was but two years old
when brought by his parents to America and
was a little lad of only six years at the time of
his father's death. He went to live with the
family with whom he remained until he had
attained his majority and with them came to
Michigan in i860. He worked by the month
as a farm hand and saved about one thousand
dollars while employed in that way. He then re-
solved to carry on farming pursuits on his own
account and was married here April 5, 1.876, to
Miss Martha Parker, a sister of Epson and
Newell Parker, who are mentioned elsewhere
in this volume. Mrs. Pope was born, reared
and educated here and by her marriage became
the mother of two sons, Floyd, a steam en-
gineer, of Chicago, and Miles, at home. There
are two girls, nieces of Mrs. Pope, Sarah and
Marian P., who have made their home with
their uncle and aunt since the death of their
parents, who passed away when the elder sister
was twelve years of age and the younger seven
years old.
Prior to his marriage Mr. Pope had pur-
chased one hundred acres of land where he
now resides and the young couple began their
domestic life upon the farm wrhich was then an
uncultivated and unimproved tract of land in
the midst of the forest. With characteristic en-
ergy, however, he began to clear away the
trees and improve the farm. He built a good
residence there and has carried fonvard the
work of cultivation and development until he
now has a splendid farm property. In addition
to his home he has two good barns and sub-
stantial outbuildings upon the place and has
planted two orchards, now having a thrifty
young orchard covering six acres which is
coming into bearing and contains a great vari-
ety of fruits. In connection with his farming
he raises good thoroughbred stock, making a
specialty of Shorthorn cattle, Merino sheep
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332
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
and Poland-China hogs. He has been a suc-
cessful farmer and stock-raiser, his land being
richly cultivated while in his pastures are
found good grades of stock well cared for. He
has largely used the Page wire fencing upon
his place.
In matters of citizenship he is progressive
and has co-operated in many movements for
the general good. Formerly he was a republi-
can in his political affiliation but is now identi-
fied with the democracy. He was elected and
served as supervisor for two consecutive terms
and during that period was a member of a
number of important committees. He has like-
wise been township treasurer for two terms,
also township drain commissioner and has
frequently been a delegate to the county and
state conventions of his party. As a member
of the school board he has performed helpful
service in behalf of public education. He and
his wife are members of the Grange and Mr.
Pope is now its master. For almost a half
century he has lived in Clinton county and
great have been the changes which have oc-
curred in that time. His efforts have been ben-
eficial to the county as well as a source of liv-
ing to himself. He has cleared, improved and
developed a fine farm and has gained a reputa-
tion as a careful business man, honorable in his
dealings and straightforward in all of his
conduct.
THOMAS H. GREEN.
Thomas H. Green, who without special ad-
vantages or opportunities in his youth, has be-
come a prosperous farmer and representative
citizen of Clinton county, his home being on
section 7, Victor township, was born in Bed-
fordshire, England, April 12, 1830, his parents
being William and Rachel (Clark) Green, both
of whom were natives of England. In 1840
they became residents of Schenectady, New
York, and afterward removed to Detroit,
Michigan, and later to Troy township, Oak-
land county, this state. After three years there
passed they came to Clinton county, settling on
section 6, Bingham township, where the father
secured one hundred and seventy-seven acres
of land. When three years had gone by he
removed to Bengal township and bought a farm
of two hundred acres on section 1, which con-
tinued to be the place of his residence until his
death, which occurred in 1861, when he was
fifty-seven years of age. His wife also died it
the age of fifty-seven, in the year 1864. At
the time of his death he owned two hundred
and seventy acres of rich and valuable land, of
which eighty acres was splendidly improved.
In the family were seven children as follows:
Ann, now the wife of William Huggett, of St.
Clair county, Michigan; Jane, the wife of
Henry Moberly, of Guthrie county, Iowa;
Elizabeth, the widow of Benjamin Shepard, of
Shepardsville, this county; Sarah, the wife of
George Johnson, of St. Johns, Michigan;
Thomas H., of this review; Charles C, who is
living in Greenbush township; and Benjamin F.,
of Detroit, Michigan. All were born in Eng-
land.
Thomas H. Green is a self-educated as well
as a self-made man, having had no opportunity
for the acquirement of an education such as is
accorded boys of the present day, for he was
able to attend school only a few weeks. He left
home when a youth of eleven years and began
earning his own living by farm work. For
ten years he was in the employ of B. F. Knee-
land, in Bengal township, and continued to
work by the month until twenty-seven years of
age. In August, 1862, however, he responded
to the country's call for troops, enlisting as a
member of Company G, Twenty-third Michigan
Infantry, with which he served for nine months.
He was detached to look after prisoners and be-
coming ill he was relieved from further duty
and honorably discharged. Following his re-
turn home he built a saw mill in Bengal town-
ship in company with William Partridge and
operated this plant for a year, when he sold
out to Livingstone Davis. He then gave his
attention to agricultural pursuits in Bengal
township, having an eighty-acre farm which he
had previously purchased on section 13. At a
former day he had also owned eighty acres on
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THOMAS H. GREEN.
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MRS. THOMAS H. GREEN.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
337
section 10 for two years. He bought one hun-
dred and twenty acres in Shiawassee county and
thirty-five years ago he bought his present farm,
then comprising eighty-five acres of land on
section 7, Victor township, one hundred and
twenty acres on section 12, Olive township, and
eighty acres on section 1, Olive township. He
now has in Victor township three hundred and
four acres in one body, all of which he has
cleared and transformed into cultivable property.
His landed possessions aggregate six hundred
acres and he is therefore classed with the lead-
ing landowners and substantial citizens of his
community. He has erected modern buildings
and has a splendidly improved property, his
farms now being operated by his sons. In all
of his business affairs he displays excellent judg-
ment and unremitting energy and his labors
have been attended by a gratifying measure of
success.
On the 20th of November, i860, Mr. Green
was united in marriage to Miss Martha L. Wel-
lington, a daughter of Elbridge and Lorinda
(Dumbolton) Wellington, of Troy, New York,
who came to Michigan when their daughter was
twelve years of age, settling on section 12, Ben-
gal township, Clinton county. The father died
at the age of seventy-one years and his wife
passed away at the age of eighty years. Mrs.
Green was one of a family of seven children,
namely: Isaac, who is living in Boston, Mas-
sachusetts; Elbridge G., deceased; Alpheus D.,
who is living in the village of Ovid; Daniel T.,
of St. Paul, Minnesota; Mrs. Green; Adelia L.,
the wife of Ezra Lattimer, of Victor township ;
and Franklin, whose home is in Sacramento,
California.
Lewis F. Green, son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
H. Green, married Hettie Head, of Ovid. They
have one child, Frances M. William Green, of
Olive township, wedded May Holden, of Victor
township. Frederick C, living in Victor town-
ship, married Nora Rheubottom, of Olive town-
ship. Their children are Hazel M., Lewis W.,
Charles T., Nobel O., Velma and Thomas H.
Mr. Green has been actively connected with
farming pursuits throughout nearly his entire
life and is a worthy representative not only of
the agricultural but also of the pioneer class
of citizens of Clinton county, where he is recog-
nized as a reliable man, straightforward as well
as prosperous in his business affairs. He has
lived upon his farm with the exception of the
period from 1893 until 1903, when he made his
home in St. Johns, being at that time connected
with the mail service. In 1903, however, he
returned to his farm in Victor township, where
he yet makes his home. He belongs to St. Johns
lodge. No. 5, A. F. & A. M., and is a Knight
Templar. His political allegiance is given to
the republican party but he has always been
without political aspiration, preferring to con-
centrate his energies upon his business affairs,
which, capably conducted, have brought him a
gratifying measure of prosperity. He has now
passed the sixty-ninth milestone on life's jour-
ney and an active and honorable career made
him one of the most highly esteemed citizens of
Clinton county.
MATTHEW M. HILL.
Matthew M. Hill, whose home is on section
29, Olive township, is well known in this
county and among his many friends is famil-
iarly called "Mark." He is one of the prosper-
ous farmers of the township and owns a well
improved and valuable tract of land of eighty
acres. By birth, training and preference he is
a son of Michigan and has had no desire to
make a home elsewhere. His birth occurred
in Washtenaw county, this state, September
13, 1848. His father, Mark Hill, was a native
of' England, born and reared in Lincolnshire,
and was married in that country to Miss Maria
Eagle, an English lady. He emigrated to the
new world about 1840, settling in Washtenaw
county, where he entered land from the gov-
ernment, becoming owner of a farm in the
town of Linden. This he at once began to clear
and cultivate and he surrounded his tract by a
fence and opened up the farm, spending his
remaining days there. He died, however, when
comparatively a young man, passing away in
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
1864. His wife survived him for a number of
years and he lived to the ripe old age of
seventy-four.
M. M. Hill, whose name introduces this rec-
ord, spent his boyhood days in the county of
his nativity and was early trained to the work
of the farm, becoming familiar with all of its
labors and duties. He was united in marriage
in Jackson county, Michigan, on the 20th of
February, 1872, to Miss Martha L. Locher,
who was a native of that state and was born in
Jackson county. Jler father, Joseph Locher,
was a native of Switzerland and after attend-
ing a military school in France he entered the
army, serving under one of the Bonapartes in
1817, when nineteen years of age. He became
an early resident of Michigan, settling in Jack-
son county in 1848, and married Martha
Holdrum, of New Jersey, where he resided for
a few years prior to coming to the west. Mrs,
Hill is one of a family of seven children, three
sons and four daughters, all of whom are mar-
ried and have families of their own, save two
of the daughters.
Following his marriage Mr. Hill made his
home in Jackson, Washtenaw and Ingham
counties for some time, arriving in Clinton
county about 1880, when he located in Olive
township on a farm of eighty-eight acres. He
at once began its further cultivation and im-
provement and resided thereon for several
years. In 1895 he removed to the place where
he now makes his home and has operated this
farm for ten years. It is neat in appearance
and everything about the place indicates his
careful supervision and progressive spirit. He
started out in life for himself a poor man but
by his labor and enterprise, his industry and
perseverance, he has become a successful agri-
culturist and is now one of the substantial resi-
dents of Olive township.
Politically Mr. Hill is identified with the
democratic party and his fellow townsmen,
recognizing his worth and ability, have elected
him to the position of township treasurer, in
which he served for two years. Later he was
chosen supervisor and for four years he served
as a member of the county board, acting on a
number of important committees during that
period. He is a champion of the public-school
system, a friend of progress in educational
matters and has done effective service for the
schools during twenty years' connection with
the school board, being its chairman at the
present time. He is a man of genuine worth,
honored and esteemed by all for his reliability
in business, his loyalty in citizenship and his
fidelity to the ties of social and home life.
EDWARD S. CLARK.
Edward S. Clark, whose valuable farm of
two hundred acres of rich and productive land
is devoted to general farming and stock-raising
and whose residence stands on section 11, Bath
township, is by birth, training and residence a
western man, the place of his nativity being
Lewanee county, Michigan, and the date of
his birth March 28, 184 1. His father, Karriel
Clark, was born in Niagara county, New York,
and was a son of Samuel Clark, a native of
Vermont, the ancestors of the family having
become residents of the Green Mountain state
in early colonial days. Samuel Clark removed
thence to New York and his son Karriel was
reared and educated there. He was also mar-
ried in that state to Rebecca Wilsey, whose
birth occurred in Wayne county, New York,
and two children were born unto them ere they
removed to the west about 1834. Hoping to
benefit his financial condition and more quickly
acquire a competence in the new but growing
middle section of the country Mr. Clark went
with his family to Lewanee county about 1834.
His labors resulted in the opening up of a good
farm near Tecumseh and subsequently he re-
moved to Ingham county, while still later he
went to Clinton county, where his death oc-
curred about 1890. His wife had died in
Woodhull a few years before.
Edward S. Clark was reared to manhood in
Ingham county, remaining under the parental
roof and assisting in the operation of the home
farm until he had attained his majority. Dur-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
339
ing the period of the civil war he enlisted in
1864 as a member of Company K, Twentieth
Michigan Infantry, and went to the south with
the Army of the Potomac, joining General
Grant's command. He then participated in a
number of important engagements, being first
under fire at Poplar Grove and later in the
vicinity of Petersburg. He never lost a day
from duty because of illness or wTounds and he
served until the close of the war, when he was
honorably discharged at Jackson, Mississippi,
in June, 1865.
Returning to his home, as the country no
longer needed his aid, he engaged in farming in
Ingham county, where he owned a tract of land
until 1870. He then sold his property there
and bought where he now resides, having one
hundred and sixty acres which he began to
further improve and develop. The house and
barn were both built by him, and fruit and
shade trees of his own planting add to the value
and attractive appearance of the place. He
has also fenced and ditched the farm, thus add-
ing to its productiveness, and he bought forty
acres more land so that his property constitutes
an excellent tract of two hundred acres.
In 1866 Mr. Clark was happily married to
Miss Mary Emma Noyes, a native of New
York but reared and educated in Ingham
county, while prior to her marriage she suc-
cessfully engaged in teaching. Her death oc-
curred in this county in the fall of 1888, three
children surviving her : Edward ; Ida, who is
the wife of Frank Alberson, of Ingham
county; and Aaron, who follows farming in
Bath township. On the 29th of March, 1894,
Mr. Clark was married to Miss Mary E. Place,
a native of this county, and they have become
the parents of three sons, Lawrence, Lawton
and Frank.
In casting his ballot Mr. Clark has sup-
ported democratic principles but has never been
an aspirant for office. He has always been an
industrious, energetic man of frugal habits and
thoroughly reliable in business transactions.
He fought for the old flag in the Union when
its dissolution was threatened and is one of the
few survivors of the great army of men who
wore the blue uniform of the nation upon the
battle-fields of the south. He made a credit-
able military record but there has been no more
worthy commendation than is his record in
other relations of life for he has always been
loyal to honorable principles in business and
social relations.
ROBERT S. ARMOUR.
On the roster of county officials in Clinton
county appears the name of Robert S. Armour,
now filling the office of register of deeds. This
county has been signally favored in the class of
men who have performed her public service
and who with singleness of purpose and devo-
tion to duty have promoted her interests
through the capable administration of the af-
fairs of their individual offices. Mr. Armour
has made a creditable record in the position
which he is now filling. Moreover, he is one of
Clinton county's native sons, his birth having
occurred in Duplain township, January 22,
1865. His parents were William and Esther
(Wilson) Armour, the former a native of Scot-
land and the latter of Canada. The father was
the eldest in a family of seven children and
after crossing the briny deep to the new world
he became a resident of Canada, where he met
and married Miss Wilson. The year 1861 wit-
nessed their removal to Clinton county and
they settled upon a farm in Duplain township,
where Mr. Armour carried on general agricul-
tural pursuits up to the time of his death. When
he had become a naturalized American citizen
he supported the republican party and its prin-
ciples and for fourteen years he was supervisor
of his township. He died in March, 1893, at
the age of sixty-four years, and is still survived
by his widow. They were the parents of three
children : Annie, the wife of James Harrison,
of Hamilton, Ontario; Robert S.; and Maggie
P., the wife of O. M. Pearl, of Duplain town-
ship.
After attending the common schools Robert
S. Armour became a student in the high school
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
at Ovid and later entered the Northern Indiana
Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana, from
which he was graduated in 1889. Removing
to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he there engaged
in legal business and later became engaged
with newspaper work in Spokane, Washington,
spending four years in the two places. Com-
ing to Clinton county, Michigan, he followed
farming for a year in Duplain township, after
which he entered the employ of the McCormick
Harvester Company and later, in 1903, the In-
ternational Harvester Company, after the
companies consolidated, as salesman for cen-
tral Michigan, continuing in that service until
the fall of 1904, when he resigned to become
register of deeds of Clinton county, to which
office he was elected on the republican ticket by
a majority of thirteen hundred and ninety-five.
He is a progressive young man, in touch with
the spirit of the times, interested in local ad-
vancement and national welfare, and his ef-
forts have been of practical benefit to his native
county. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity,
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
and the Knights of Pythias lodge in St. Johns.
In September, 1899, he was married to Sarah
J. Scott, a daughter of Dr. William Scott, of
Ithaca.
LESTER H. PEASE.
Lester H. Pease, a thrifty and well-to-do
farmer, owning and cultivating one hundred
and sixty acres of land on section 17, Essex
township, is numbered among the early settlers
of Michigan, for his residence in the state
dates from 1845 and since 1875 he has lived
in Clinton county. He was born in Ontario
county, New York, February 1, 1836. His
father, Pliny Pease, was a native of Connecti-
cut, born in 1788. There he was reared and
married, Miss Hannah Fox, a native of Con-
necticut, becoming his wife. Mr. Pease was a
shoemaker by trade and followed that pursuit in
early life but subsequent to his removal to the
Empire state he settled upon a farm and en-
gaged in general agricultural pursuits. In
1845 'ie came to Michigan, locating in Washte-
naw county, and in 1847 he removed to Kent
county, where he entered eighty acres of land
from the government and opened up a farm.
It was covered with timber when it came into
his possession but he cleared away the trees,
plowed the land and cultivated the fields, con-
tinuing the work of improvement and progress
there up to the time of his death, which oc-
curred in 1862. His wife survived him for
only two years, passing away in 1864.
Lester H. Pease is one of a family of five
children, but only two survive, his sister being
Delana, now the wife of John Brookman, of
Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lester H. Pease was
reared in Kent county and is indebted to the
common schools for the educational privileges
he enjoyed. He remained with his father until
he had attained his majority and at the time of
the Civil war he put aside business and personal
considerations, enlisting in 1862 as a member
of the Sixth Michigan Cavalry. He was as-
signed to Company M and with his regiment
went east, joining the Army of the Potomac as
a member of General Custer's brigade. Thus
he served until the close of the war. He partici-
pated in the battle of the Wilderness, after
which his company was on detached duty in the
vicinity of Washington and in Maryland, also
at Harper's Ferry. On the 5th of May, 1863,
however, he rejoined his regiment and took
part in the battle of the Wilderness on the 6th
of May, 1864. He was also in the engagement
at Spottsylvania, on Sheridan's raid to Rich-
mond and the two days' battle at Beaver Dam.
Lie likewise participated in the sharp fight at
Chickahominy Swamp and in the battles of Cold
Harbor, Winchester, Cedar Creek, Front Royal,
Saylor Creek, Harper's farm and Five Forks.
On the 9th of April, 1865, he witnessed the
surrender of General Lee. During the last
year of his service he was corporal and had
charge of General Custer's train. He served
until after the close of the war and was then
honorably discharged December 6, 1865. He
had made a most creditable military record by
his valor on the field of battle, his promptness
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
34i
in responding to a command and his loyalty to
duty on every occasion.
Following his return home Mr. Pease bought
a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Kent
county Michigan, where he carried on general
agricultural pursuits for seven years. Subse-
quently he bought another farm of one hun-
dred and sixty acres and still later he sold that
property. He has owned and cultivated a num-
ber of different places and on coming to his
present home he first purchased eighty acres of
land, to which he has since added an adjoining
tract of eighty acres, so that his farm now
covers a quarter section. This is well improved
and valuable land, pleasantly and conveniently
situated within two miles of Maple Rapids. He
has fenced the place, cleared the fields of stumps,
made repairs and kept everything in neat and
thrifty condition.
Mr. Pease was married in Kent county in
1 861 to Miss Marilla Fox, a native of On-
tario county, New York, and a daughter of
John W. Fox and a sister of George Fox, who
is mentioned elsewhere in this work. They now
have four children living: Nelson; Allie;
Jeannette, who for eleven years was a successful
teacher in the schools of this county; and
Roland who, with his brother Nelson, operates
the home farm. Nelson is married, has one
child, Marjorie, and is living in a dwelling
upon the home farm.
Politically Mr. Pease has always been an
earnest republican, although he was reared a
democrat. He was deeply interested in the
questions which gave rise to the new repub-
lican party and in i860 cast his first presi-
dential vote in support of Abraham Lincoln.
He has served as a member of the board of re-
view and was elected county coroner but did
not qualify for the latter office, as he has no
desire to fill positions of political preferment.
He served under appointment of Governor Luce
as supervisor of the state house of correction
and for four years under Warden E. C. Wat-
kins as supervisor of the house of correction at
Ionia. He has served as a delegate to numerous
conventions of his party and was a delegate at
the time that Rich and Pingree were nomi-
nated for governor. He belongs to the Masonic
fraternity at Maple Rapids, to the Grand Army
Post, to the Grange and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.
In 1899 Mr. Pease was called upon to mourn
the loss of his wife, who passed away on the
2 1st of July of that year and was laid to rest
in Plains cemetery. He has also lost three
children : George, at the age of ten years; Louisa
and Philo, both of whom died in infancy. All
were buried in the cemetery where the mother's
remains now rest.
Mr. Pease has led an active, useful and
honorable life and has ever been found loyal to
the trust reposed in him whether in public office,
on the field of battle, in business relations or in
private life.
ARCHIE SMITH.
Neat and attractive in appearance is the
eighty-acre farm of Archie Smith on section
24, Lebanon township, in addition to this prop-
erty he also has eighty acres in Essex town-
ship, nearly all of which is under cultivation,
and eighty acres on section 13, Lebanon town-
ship, his landed possessions therefore aggregat-
ing two hundred and forty acres. He is a
young man of good business ability, whose life
record has been creditable to the county of his
nativity. He was born in Essex township,
September 3, 1872, his parents being Joseph
H. and Elizabeth (Nye) Smith. The father
was born in New Jersey and remained there
until twenty years of age, when he came to
Michigan, settling first in Berrien county. This
was about 1864. He was married there to Miss
Nye, a native of Michigan, and at a later day
came to Clinton county, settling in Essex town-
ship, where he opened up a farm upon which
he now resides. In the family were five chil-
dren, three sons and two daughters.
Archie Smith spent his youth in Essex town-
ship and acquired a district-school education.
When sixteen years of age he started out in life
on his own account and worked by the month
as a farm hand for three summers, while in the
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342
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
winter seasons he was employed in the pine
woods. He then secured a clerkship in a store
in Wisconsin, where he spent eighteen months,
after which he returned to Clinton county.
Here he was married in Lebanon township on
the 4th day of May, 1893, the lady of his choice
being Miss Hattie Dixon, who was born on the
farm where they now reside, her father being
William Dixon, who removed from Brockville,
Ontario, Canada, to Michigan. He was one
of the early settlers of Clinton county and
opened up a farm, which he cleared and culti-
vated. He made this farm a productive tract
of land and it yielded to him good crops that
supplied him with the comforts and many of
the luxuries of life in his declining years. He
resided thereon up to the time of his death,
which occurred March 28, 1895, while his wife
passed away in April, 1903. In their family
were two children, the son being Chauncey
Dixon, now a resident farmer of Essex town-
ship.
Having a renewed impetus for further effort
after his marriage Mr. Smith took up his abode
on a farm in Essex township and with unre-
mitting diligence continued its cultivation and
improvement for seven years. He built a good
house there and bought more land. Later he
sold eighty acres and subsequently invested in
other property and purchased the interest of
the Dixon heirs in the old Dixon homestead.
He now owns this farm, which he had operated
for his father-in-law in his last years. Mr.
Smith raises high grade stock, including sheep,
hogs, cattle and horses, which he also buys and
sells to good advantage, making a specialty of
hogs. He is an excellent judge of stock and
the animals sent from his place command a
high market price.
In his political views Mr. Smith is a repub-
lican but without desire for office. He belongs
to the Masonic fraternity at Maple Rapids and
he and his wife are members of the Eastern
Star, while he is also connected with the Mac-
cabees. He is practical in all life's relations,
his efforts being followed by results that are
commendable and desirable. He is recognized
as a man of genuine worth and of unfaltering
integrity and in his well conducted business af-
fairs shows the controlled ambition and stead-
fast purpose which are salient elements of
prosperity.
JAMES R. CARTER.
No history of Clifton county would be com-
plete without mention of James R. Carter, who
for fifty-seven long years has resided within
its borders, witnessing the transformation that
has occurred as the county has emerged from a
forest district into a region of rich fertility, and
not only has the work of agriculture been car-
ried steadily forward, for in the towns and
cities progress has been made along industrial
and commercial lines and Clinton county has
become possessed of all the advantages, im-
provements and conveniences known to the
older east.
Mr. Carter is numbered among the pros-
perous farmers of Greenbush township, being
the owner of one hundred and twenty-two acres
of good land on section 10. He arrived in Clin-
ton county on the 15th of October, 1848, being
at that time a young man of twenty years. His
birth had occurred in Loudoun county, Vir-
ginia, February 12, 1828. His father, Charles
Carter, was also a native of that locality, born
February 6, 1800, while the paternal grand-
father was a native of Germany but became one
of the early residents of Virginia, settling there
when it was still one of the colonies of Great
Britain. However, when an attempt was made
to throw off the yoke of British oppression he
became a soldier in the Revolutionary war and
aided in establishing the new republic. Charles
Carter was reared to manhood in Virginia and
was married there to Miss Melinda Craven,
also a native of that state. He was a carpenter
and joiner by trade arid assisted in the erection
of a residence for President James Monroe. In
1835 he removed to Ohio, taking up his abode
on a farm in Mulberry township, Knox county.
In 1849 he removed to Michigan, where he
joined his son, J. R. Carter, and spent his last
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JAMES R. CARTER.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
345
vears, passing away here on the 4th of Novem-
ber, 1864. His first wife died in Ohio about
1837 and he afterward married again. By the
first marriage there were three children : Sarah
E., who became the wife of Parson Jeffers, of
Eureka, and died here, hers being the first in-
terment in Eureka cemetery; James R., of this
review; and Mrs. Mahala A. Hulse, of Green-
bush township.
James R. Carter was reared to manhood in
Knox county, Ohio, and is indebted to the
public-school system of that locality for the
educational privileges he enjoyed. His youth
was passed under the parental roof and he be-
came familiar with the work that falls to the
lot of the agriculturist as he assisted in the
fields from the time of early spring planting
until the crops were harvested in the late
autumn. With his brother-in-law he came to
Clinton county in 1848 and from the govern-
ment entered one hundred and sixty acres of
land, where he yet resides. The following
spring he began to clear this property and he
worked in'a sawmill one winter, while the sum-
mer months were given to his farm work.
After clearing a little tract of land he built
a log cabin and further continued the work of
improving and cultivating his place.
As a companion and helpmate for life's
journey he chose Miss Susan McPherson and
they were married in Essex township, February
11, 1849, a day Prior t0 tne twenty-first an-
niversary of his birth. Mrs. Carter was born
and reared in Loudoun county, Virginia, and
was a daughter of Stephen McPherson, who re-
moved from the Old Dominion to Ohio and
afterward came to Michigan, settling in Clin-
ton county in 1848. The young couple began
their domestic life in a little log cabin in the
midst of the woods. They were pioneer settlers
but the country was rapidly becoming settled,
for in the winter of 1848-9 forty- four hundred
acres of land were entered in this locality. Mr.
Carter lost his first house through fire. All
were away from home at the time and the loss
was quite a serious one in consequence, as noth-
ing was saved. He later built a good neat resi-
dence, to which he has since added and now
has a comfortable home. Later he built a good
house for his son and has also built substantial
barns and outbuildings. He has an orchard of
his own planting and has also set out walnut
and shade trees which have added much to the
value and attractive appearance of the place.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Carter were born five
children who are yet living : Melinda Elizabeth,
the wife of David L. Alldoffer, of Homer,
Michigan; Juliet B., the wife of Albert Gilson,
of Bannister, Michigan; Charles, who is mar-
ried and resides in Detroit ; Alice, at home ; and
W. G. Carter, who is married and resides upon
the old homestead. One daughter of the fam-
ily, Elvira, died in early womanhood and the
mother passed away on the 5th of March, 1888.
Mr. Carter was married again in Greenbush
township, February 4, 1891, the lady of his
choice being Miss Mary E. Auten, a native
of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Henry
Auten, of Cambria county, Pennsylvania. He
removed from the Keystone state to Knox
county, Ohio, and in 1850 came to Clinton
county, Michigan, where he spent his last days.
Mrs. Carter is a sister of Frank Auten, for-
merly a lawyer of St. Johns.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Carter hold membership
in the Methodist Episcopal church and he as-
sisted in organizing the first Christian associa-
tion in this part of the county — a Methodist
class, which was formed in 1849. He is the
last survivor of the original eleven members of
that class. He has been one of the officers of
his church for many years and has taken an
active and helpful part in its work. He was
identified with the Masonic lodge, was the first
master of Greenbush lodge, A. F. & A. M.,
served in that capacity for seven years, is now
a past master and has several times represented
the local lodge in the grand lodge. Politically
he was originally an old line whig and is now
a republican. He was elected and served for
four years as township treasurer, was highway
commissioner two years and has been a member
of the school board. No movement for the
general good fails to receive his hearty endorse-
ment and awaken his deep interest. He takes
great pride in what has been accomplished in
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
the county and has done his full share toward its
development and progress. He lived here in
early pioneer days and has shot and killed both
deer and bears here. For fifty-seven years he
has lived in Clinton county, has seen the forests
felled and the farms improved, while the adapt-
ability of the county to general grain-raising
and horticultural pursuits has long since been
successfully demonstrated. Where once stood
the native trees are now seen good orchards and
fine groves of ornamental trees or well kept
lawns. There have been good roads made,
cities and towns have been built up and have
been connected by railroad and trolley lines.
The county therefore to-day bears little re-
semblance to the district into which Mr. Carter
came in his early manhood, but he rejoices in
what has been accomplished and in his home
locality has done much for material, intellectual
and moral progress.
JOHN W. KEENEY.
John W. Keeney, sheriff of Clinton county,
was born in Lewanee county, Michigan, in the
city of Cambridge, February 16, 1852. He is
a son of Jonathan B. and Amanda (Mallery)
Keeney, the former a native of Massachu-
setts and the latter of New York. The Kee-
neys are of Irish lineage, while the Mallerys are
of English descent. The paternal grandfather,
Zalman Keeney, was a physician of Massachu-
setts. Jonathan B. Keeney, who was born in
18 1 5 and became a resident of Michigan in
1837, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers
of Lewanee county. He died in 1897, at the
age of eighty-two years, while his wife passed
away in 1882, when sixty-five years of age. In
their family were thirteen children, nine of
whom are living: James, a resident of Maple
Rapids, Michigan; Ellen, the wife of James
Furgson, of Dewitt, Michigan; Joseph, who is
living in Oregon; Nicholas, a resident of
Miami, Florida; Alamson M., of Ann Arbor;
Edward, of Hanover, Michigan; Carrie, the
wife of Fred Groger, of Concord, Michigan,
and Nancy, the wife of John Holmes, of Ovid.
John W. Keeney, the seventh in order of
birth in this family, was educated in the com-
mon schools and in Adrian College of Michi-
gan, where he remained as a student for three
years. He afterward engaged in teaching for
twenty-three years and this entire period with
the exception of the first term was spent in
Clinton county. He taught for fifteen terms in
the Riley district and during the last seven
years of his connection with educational circles
he was principal of the high school at Fowler.
As an educator he became well known and has
done much to advance the standard of intellect-
ual development in this part of the state. He
imparted with readiness and conciseness to
others the knowledge that he had obtained
through his own study and investigation and
moreover inspired his pupils with his own zeal
and interest in the work. He left the school
room to become a factor in public life of the
county, being appointed marshal of St. Johns
in 1896. In that position he continued until
1904, when he was elected on the republican
ticket to the office of sheriff of Clinton county
by a majority of one thousand, succeeding
William Schavey. He is the present incumbent
and his official record is one which has gained
him high encomiums. While following his pro-
fession he made investment in eighty acres of
land in Riley township, which he cleared of the
timber, and it developed into an excellent farm,
which he later sold.
On the 5th of March, 1878, Mr. Keeney was
united in marriage to Miss Ida A. Hayes, of
Clinton county, who died in 1885, at tne ag"e of
twenty-three years, leaving one son, Howard,
now of St. Johns. In 1886 Mr. Keeney
wedded Agnes Funston, who died in 1889, at
the age of thirty-seven years. His present wife
was Estella B. Bullard, of Fowler, whom he
married in 1892. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Keeney
have been born three children: Claude B.,
Blanche and Hazel.
Mr. Keeney is quite prominent in social re-
lations, belonging to the Masonic fraternity, in
which he has attained the Knight Templar de-
gree, also the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, the Modern Woodmen of America, the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
347
Maccabees and the Gold Reserve Fund. Of
these organizations he is a worthy representa-
tive, exemplifying in his life the beneficent and
helpful spirit upon which the different orders
are based. Through an active and busy life
Mr. Keeney has contributed to the welfare and
progress of city and county and his official rec-
ord's one which justly entitles him to mention
among the representative men of St. Johns.
JOHN READ.
John Read, owning a neat and well im-
proved farm of one hundred and sixty acres on
section 21, Bath township, has lived upon his
farm since 1870 but is now building a resi-
dence in the village of Bath, where he expects
to make his home. For more than a half cen-
turv he has made his home in Michigan and
as a pioneer resident of this portion of the state
is justly entitled to representation in this vol-
ume. A native of England, his birth occurred
in Northamptonshire, May 24, 1836. His
father, William Read, was likewise a native
of the same country, born in 1808. There
he spent his boyhood and youth and when he
had attained manhood and desired a com-
panion and helpmate for life's journey he
wedded Mary Marlow, a native of England.
He followed farming in that country until after
the birth of nine of their children and then in
1853 ne emigrated to the new world, making
his way at once to Michigan, where he joined
his son in Washtenaw county. He farmed
there for several years but eventually pur-
chased a tract of land in Livingston county
and improved the place, becoming the owner
of an excellent farm property of two hundred
acres, having the assistance of his sons in its
cultivation and improvement. There he re-
mained until his life's labors were ended in
death, his wife surviving him for several years.
John Read is the eldest of a family of nine
sons and two daughters, one of whom was a
soldier of the War of the Rebellion and died
in the army, while defending the Union cause.
One sister reached womanhood, was married
and later passed away. John Read came to
Michigan when a young man of sixteen years
and attained his majority in Livingston county,
remaining with his father and assisting him in
the development of the home farm until he had
attained his majority. He had a fair education
in England and was thus well equipped to meet
the responsible and practical duties of business
life. He had no financial assistance at the out-
set of his career but he worked by the month
and placed his dependence upon the substantial
qualities of industry and enterprise which have
proved an excellent foundation upon which to
rear the superstructure of success. He was
employed for a time as a farm hand in early
manhood and as a companion and helpmate for
life's journey chose Miss Ruth A. Sehell,
whom he wedded in Washtenaw county. She
was a native of New York, but was reared in
Michigan. The young couple began their do-
mestic life upon a rented farm in Washtenaw
county, where they lived for three years, at the
end of which time Mr. Read came to Clinton
county and with the money which he had saved
from the profits of his labor he bought one
hundred and sixty acres where he now resides,
at once beginning the task of cultivating and
developing this land. He has transformed it
into highly productive fields for the soil is allu-
vial and readily responds to the work of the
enterprising agriculturist. As time has passed
he has bought more land and in addition to the
homestead property he has another farm of
eighty acres and his wife also has one hundred
and twenty acres. His landed possessions ag-
gregate altogether three hundred and sixty
acres and he has built on the home property a
large and attractive residence of modern style
of architecture. There are good buildings in
which the stock is housed and the grain and
machinery sheltered from the inclement
weather, and fences and buildings are kept in
good repair. In connection with the tilling of
the soil Mr. Read feeds stock, making a spe-
cialty of sheep and cattle, which he ships to the
Chicago market. He started out in life a poor
man but through his own persistency of pur-
pose, capable management and close applica-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
tion he has accumulated a valuable property
and is one of the well-to-do citizens of Bath
township.
Having lost his first wife Mr. Read was
again married, in 1891, in this county, his sec-
ond union being with Mrs. Rosa Carl, a
widow, who was born in Ohio but was reared
in Michigan, her father, Cyrus Young, having
been one of the early settlers of this county. By
her former marriage Mrs. Read has one son,
Roscoe Carl. He was graduated in 1905 at
the Agricultural College and now has charge
of the home farm. On the 4th of November,
1904, he married Maude White, a native of
Dewitt, Clinton county. Mr. Read lost a
daughter of his first marriage, Flora, who died
at the age of eleven years. Mrs. Read is a
member of the Freewill Baptist church.
Politically a republican, Mr. Read was
elected and served for two terms as a member
of the board of county supervisors and was on
various important committees. He also served
on the board of review and his official duties
have ever been faithfully and promptly dis-
charged. He is a successful financier and busi-
ness man whose life implies the term "dignity
of labor" and his activity as a farmer and
stock dealer have made him well known in
Lansing and St. Johns as well as through the
farming districts of Ingham and Clinton
counties.
FRANCIS M. VREDENBURG.
Francis M. Vredenburg, whose strict busi-
ness integrity and conformity to a high stand-
ard of commercial ethics has gained for him
uniform confidence and good will in St. Johns,
where he is engaged in the implement business,
is a native of Ottawa county, Michigan. He
was born June 10, 1852, of the marriage of
Albert H. and Helena (Green) Vredenburg,
both of whom wrere natives of Wayne county,
New York. The father was one of a family of
three brothers. The Vredenburgs were resi-
dents of Oneida county, New York, for at least
two generations prior to his time and the an-
cestry can be traced back to Germany. Albert
H. Vredenburg remained a resident of the Em-
pire state until after his marriage, when he re-
moved westward to Michigan, settling in Hills-
dale county. Later he resided in Ottawa county
and subsequently took up his abode in Clinton
county, settling in Bingham township, whence
he afterward removed to Olive township. He
devotes his life to agricultural pursuits, follow-
ing the work of the farm until his labors were
ended in death in 1888, when he was fifty-nine
years of age. His wife survived him until
1 89 1, passing away at the age of seventy-three
years. In the family of this worthy couple
were thirteen children, of whom six are yet liv-
ing: Juliette, the wife of Alvah Arnold, of
Ottawa county, Michigan; Arminda, the wife
of Latham L. Carr, of Clinton county; Helen,
the wife of Arthur Cathermole, of Dewitt
township; Calistia, the wife of Robert Barkley,
of Hillsdale county, Michigan; May, the widow
of George Robinson, of Ottawa county, this
state; and Francis M. Two brothers died in
the Civil war, Peter departing this life while
being held as a prisoner of war, while Deloss
was killed in the battle of South Mountain,
Virginia. The other members of the family
died in infancy.
Francis M. Vredenburg, pursuing his edu-
cation in the district schools, was reared upon
the home farm, where he remained until twenty-
five years of age. He then began farming on
his own account in Olive township, carrying
on agricultural pursuits there from 1886 until
T904. In 1888 he purchased his farm in Olive
township, comprising one hundred and twenty
acres of rich and arable land, which he still
owns and which is nowr under a high state of
cultivation. At length, renting the land, he
took up his abode in St. Johns in the spring of
1904 and has since been engaged in the imple-
ment business, handling all kinds of farm im-
plements and buggies. He is likewise agent
for the McCormick harvesting machinery,
reapers and binding twine, and he handles the
Thomas & Sandwich hay loader, the side de-
livery rake and in fact all modern machinery
in use upon the model farms of the twentieth
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
349
century. He is now accorded a liberal patron-
age which is indicative of straightforward busi-
ness methods and his earnest desire to please
his patrons.
On the 15th of October, 1876, Mr. Vreden-
burg married to Miss Nellie Rockwell, a daugh-
ter of Charles M. and Hannah (Bellfield)
Rockwell, of Olive township, Clinton county.
They have two daughters : Maude, the wife of
Fred Van Vleet, of Olive township; and
Emily, the wife of Lee Van Vleet, of the same
township. Mr. Vredenburg is connected with
the Modern Woodmen of America and the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows. His political
support is given the republican party and he
served as township treasurer of Olive town-
ship in 1893 and 1894. His life, however, has
been largely devoted to his business affairs,
first as an agriculturist and now as a dealer
in farm machinery. He is reliable and energetic,
seeking out new and improved methods for
the conduct of his business and winning the
success which is the merited outcome of earn-
est labor.
JOHN BEECH.
John Beech, whose home is on section 36,
Victor township, is a prosperous farmer whose
landed possessions comprise one hundred and
twenty acres, while the neat and thrifty appear-
ance of the place indicates a life of activity,
energy and sound business judgment. He has
resided in Michigan since 1847 and m Clinton
county since 1862. He was born in Lincoln-
shire, England, May 6, 1825, and spent his
childhood and youth in that country, acquiring
his education there. The opportunities of the
new world, however, attracted him and in 1847,
when a young man of twenty-two years, he
crossed the Atlantic on a sailing vessel, which
weighed anchor at Liverpool and started on the
westward voyage to New York city. He did
not tarry in the east, however, but came at once
to Michigan accompanied by his three brothers,
William, Charles and Joseph Beech. They lo-
cated first on the county line between Washte-
naw and Jackson counties and John Beech
worked as a farm hand by the day and month,
being thus employed until 1854.
On the 20th of November of that year, in
Jackson county, Mr. Beech was married to Miss
Mary Brower, a native of Washtenaw county,
Michigan, and a daughter of Henry Brower,
a carpenter and joiner, who was born and
reared in Seneca county, New York, whence
he came to this state at an early age, casting
in his lot with the first settlers of Jackson
county. He was married in Washtenaw county
to Miss Margaret Grace Hooker, a native of
New York. Following his marriage Mr. Beech
removed to Indiana, where he took a contract
for the public works of dredging in the
Kankakee river. He employed thirty-two
hands and worked on that contract for about
ten months. He was first employed as boss of
the job at a salary of one hundred dollars per
month but later worked under contract. When
the work was completed he went to Ingham
county, Michigan, and bought eighty acres of
heavy timber land which he cleared and im-
proved, transforming the tract into an excel-
lent farm. There he resided for seven years,
on the expiration of which period he traded his
property for the place where he now resides.
This was also a heavily timbered tract when
he took possession of the farm but it is now
one of the best improved farms of the county.
Fie settled here in 1862 and began to cut away
the timber, dig out the stumps and place the
land under the plow. He has cleared and
fenced the property and has made it what it is
to-day, which improvements include a pleasant
residence, good barns and other modern and
necessary equipments. He first lived in a log
house with stick chimney, that being his resi-
dence for several years.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Beech have been born
the following children: Jenetta, the wife of
Dan Perkins, of Clinton county; Addison, a
farmer of Shiawassee county; Carrie, the wife
of Newell Parker; Charles, who is living in
Laingsburg; Jessie, the wife of William Dowd-
ing, a farmer of Victor township, mentioned
elsewhere in this volume; John, who is married
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
and owns and operates a neat farm besides his
father's farm in Bath township; Ellen, William
and Lizzie, all at home. Mr. and Mrs. Beech
have lost three children, Lily, Lena and Meada,
all of whom died in early childhood.
Politically Mr. Beech and two sons are re-
publicans. He first voted at a presidential elec-
tion in i860, when he supported Abraham Lin-
coln, and he has cast his ballot for each
nominee at the head of the ticket since that time.
He is without political aspiration for himself,
however. His four sons, Addison, Charles,
John E. and William Beech, are all Master
Masons, belonging to the lodge at Laingsburg,
Mr. Beech has lived a useful and exemplary life
and has reared and educated a family of which
he has every reason to be proud. Most of his
children are now married and are heads of
families and are well known citizens of this
locality. The parents celebrated their golden
wedding November 20, 1904, when a large
company of friends as well as their children
came to the old home to rejoice with them in
that fact that they had so long traveled life's
journey together. They left behind them many
souvenirs of this happy occasion which was one
long to be remembered by those who partici-
pated therein. Mr. Beech is truly a self-made
man as he owes his advancement entirely to his
own earnest and indefatigable labors. He came
to America empty-handed and gradually he has
worked his way upward until a farming prop-
erty of one hundred and twenty acres yields
him an excellent financial return annually.
SYLVESTER MOON.
Sylvester Moon, one of the thrifty farmers,
stock-raisers and dairymen of Clinton county,
living on section 8, Dewitt township, is a na-
tive son of this locality, born on the 17th of
October, 1844. The family is of English line-
age and Henry Moon, the father of our sub-
ject, was born in England in 1806, remaining
there until after he had attained his majority.
When a young man, hxnvever, he crossed the
briny deep to the new world and became one
of the early residents at Washtenaw county,
Michigan, whence he removed to Clinton
county, casting in his lot with its pioneers. He
settled in the midst of the green forest, en-
tering a tract of land from the government and
the original patent was signed by Martin Van
Buren, then President of the United States. Mr.
Moon at once began the arduous task of de-
veloping a new farm and continued the work of
improvement until the spring of 1850, when he
made an overland trip to California, being gone
three years and meeting with fair success in the
mining districts of the Pacific coast. He re-
turned to the middle west by way of the isthmus
route and purchased four hundred acres of land,
thus becoming engaged in agricultural pursuits
on an extensive scale. He placed many mod-
ern and substantial improvements on his
property and continued to devote his energies
to agricultural pursuits until his death, which
occurred about 1890 or 189 1. In this state he
had married Mrs. Susan M. Place, a widow,
who was born in Ohio and came to Michigan
in pioneer times, her death occurring here in
the spring of 1875. Mr. Moon afterward mar-
ried again. The children of the first union
were : Charles ; Sylvester ; John, who died while
serving in the Union army in the Civil war;
Harriet, the wife of A. C. Wolcott, of Lansing,
Michigan; Martha, who died in early woman-
hood; and Emma, the wife of M. Scott, of
Cheboygan county, Michigan. Mr. Moon of
this review also had four half-sisters, of whom
two are living: Mrs. Caroline Geer, a widow
residing in Michigan; and Mary Ann, the wife
of O. J. Wolcott, of Lansing.
Sylvester Moon was reared on his father's
farm and at an early age took his place in the
fields to aid in thleir cultivation. He
continued with his father until early
manhood, when he went to the east,
spending five years in the oil regions of Penn-
sylvania and New York, following any em-
ployment that he could secure. On his return
he engaged in the operation of the home farm
on the shares and subsequently purchased the
property, since which time he has been further
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MRS. SYLVESTER MOON.
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SYLVESTER MOON.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
355
improving this place. He has erected barns
and sheds, has fenced the fields, has set out
fruit and indeed has developed a valuable prop-
erty, which lies just south of the village of
Dewitt. Here he is carrying on farming, stock-
raising and dairying, and his business interests
are so capably directed that he has won a
place among the substantial residents of the
county.
On the 31st of December, 1874, Mr. Moon
was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Harper,
who was born in Ohio but was reared in Michi-
gan. Her mother died when she was but two
years of age and she then went to live with a
relative, Mr. Allen. Politically Mr. Moon is
an earnest democrat where national issues are
involved but at local elections votes independ-
ently of party ties. For one year he served as
township treasurer and then resigned and with
this exception he has never filled office. He
belongs to the Masonic lodge at Dewitt and has
been an Odd Fellow for more than thirty years,
passing through all of the chairs of the local
lodge, which he has likewise represented in the
grand lodge. He and his wife have taken the
Rebakah degree and he is a past noble grand of
that lodge.
WILBER THOMPSON.
On the roll of pioneer settlers in Clinton
county appears the name of Wilber Thompson
for his residence within its borders dates from
1854 and through the passing years he has won
a place among the prosperous agriculturists of
Bath township, his home being now on section
11. Many states have furnished citizens to
Michigan, and Mr. Thompson came from
Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in
Potter county, on the 7th of September, 1830.
He was reared there with only common-school
advantages and in his youth was trained to
farm labor, working in the fields from the time
of early spring planting until after crops were
harvested in the late autumn. Ambitious to
enjoy better business opportunities than he
could gain in the east he came to Michigan in
1854 and at once made his way to Clinton
county, where tracts of land were still in pos-
session of the government and could be had by
the settler who would locate thereon and im-
prove the property. This Mr. Thompson de-
sired to do and he entered one hundred and
twenty acres in the midst of a timber region.
An arduous task lay before him in the work of
clearing away the trees and brush, grubbing
up the stumps and preparing the fields for cul-
tivation. He had to drain the land by ditching
but he resolutely set to work to make his prop-
erty profitable. Having built a log house, he
lived in it for fourteen years and then erected
a good frame residence. He also built a barn
and other buildings necessary to shelter grain,
stock and farm machinery, and he added many
modern improvements, carrying on the work
of the farm in substantial manner. He has also
planted an orchard and made a valuable farm
and in connection with the cultivation of the
fields he has raised good stock — cattle, horses,
sheep and hogs. He has been a hard worker
but has made a successful farmer.
In August, 1856, in Bath township, Mr.
Thompson was united in marriage to Miss
Mary J. Smith, a native of New York and a
daughter of Moses Smith, of the Empire state,
who came here with his family in 1840. He
purchased forty acres of land and in connection
with general farming he carried on black-
smithing, building a shop and doing the work
of a blacksmith in connection with the tilling
of the fields. Mrs. Thompson was reared and
educated here and eventually was married,
when she went to her husband's home in a
little log cabin. They became the parents of
eleven children, who are yet living : Sarah, the
wife of Jacob Canada, a farmer living in Vic-
tor township ; Adelia, the wife of E. C. Clise,
who is mentioned on another page of this
work ; Ida, the wife of Clarence McFarren, also
written in this volume; Charles, a real-estate
man of Ovid; Elvira, the wife of A. T. Swar-
thout, of Victor township; Anna, the wife of
Hiram Colister, of Ontario, Canada; Newell,
a resident farmer of Ingham county; Jesse,
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356
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
whose home is in Arkansas; Isaac; Clifford,
who is now a student in the dental college, at
Lansing, Michigan; and Nellie, who died in
1903,
In his political affiliation Mr. Thompson is
a democrat and he cast his first presidential
vote for Franklin Pierce in 1852. His wife is
a member of the Baptist church and they are
well known in the community where they have
long resided, being a worthy pioneer couple
whose life has been characterized by industry,
frugality and strong purpose, by exemplary
habits and honorable methods. Mr. Thompson
has indeed been a witness of much of the
growth of the country and has experienced all
of the hardships and privations of pioneer life.
JOHN I. HINER.
John I. Hiner, who carries on general agri-
cultural pursuits on a farm of one hundred and
sixty acres on section 23, Lebanon township, is
a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in
Ashland county, on the 22d of July, 1857.
His father, Martin Hiner, was born in Lan-
caster county, Pennsylvania, in 18 15, and was
a son of Leonard Hiner, of German parentage.
Martin Hiner was reared in Pennsylvania and
on leaving that state made the journey on foot
to Wayne county, Ohio, carrying his belong-
ings upon his back. He made a permanent lo-
cation there and was married in the Buckeye
state to Miss Lucinda Zimmerman, a native of
Pennsylvania. Subsequently he settled in Ash-
land county, Ohio, where he opened up a farm
of one hundred and seventy-three acres, carry-
ing on the work of cultivation until it became a
well improved property. He died there in
1890, while his wife passed away in 1873. In
their family were six children.
John I. Hiner was reared in Ashland county,
Ohio, and pursued his education in the public
schools there. On attaining his majority he,
too, sought a companion and helpmate for life's
journey and was married in August, 1876, to
Miss Elizabeth M. Wohlford, whose birth oc-
curred in Knox county, Ohio. Her father
was Michael Wohlford, who was born in
Pennsylvania in 18 13 and was there reared.
When a young man he went to Ohio, where he
married Mary E. Lucas, a native of that state.
His death occurred in September, 1862, in
Knox county, Ohio, and Mrs. Wohlford after-
ward reared their family. She later married
Martin Hiner and now resides with her daugh-
ter, Mrs. John I. Hiner, at the advanced age
of eighty-five years.
Following his marriage John I. Hiner
worked fcr his father until twenty-one years of
age, after which he was in the railroad service
for six months. He then rented a farm for a
year. He came to Michigan in May, 1880,
and bought eighty acres of land on section 25,
Bingham township, Clinton county, in the
midst of the forest. This he cleared and culti-
vated, residing thereon for thirteen years. In
the work of clearing and fencing the land he
never employed any assistance save at logging
for three days, doing all the hard work him-
self. He at length traded his first property for
the farm where he now resides, having here
one hundred and twenty acres of land, upon
which he took up his abode in 1893. This he
at once began to cultivate and improve and has
now placed the farm in an excellent condition.
His improvements constitute an attractive
farm residence, a good barn and a granary. He
keeps all of his sheds and buildings in good re-
pair and has planted some fruit, having berries,
apples and other fruit upon the place. Since
establishing his home here he has purchased an
adjoining tract of forty acres and his farm
now covers a quarter section. He has brought
the land to a high state of cultivation, has
cleared it of stumps and stones and has fenced
the place. and now has seven hundred rods of
woven wire fence. Everything is in keeping
with modern ideas of farming and his labors
have wrought a wonderful change in the ap-
pearance of his homestead.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hiner have been born
six children, of whom three are living: Delbert
C, who is married and owns and operates a
farm adjoining his father's place; G. W., who
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
357
assists his father on the farm; and Clyde, a lad
of nine years. To the republican party Mr.
Hiner has always given his political support
and has taken an active interest in local politics
in behalf of the success of his party and its
candidates but he has never sought or desired
office for himself. He served for one year on
the board of review but otherwise has held no
positions of political preferment. He and his
wife belong to the local Grange and also to
the Maccabees and for a number of years he
has been a member of the Farmers' Mutual In-
surance Company. Mr. Hiner deserves much
credit for what he has accomplished for he
started out in life empty-handed, having no
family or pecuniary assistance. His labor and
enterprise have been the foundation upon
which he has builded the superstructure of his
success. He has worked earnestly and persist-
ently and with the assistance of his estimable
wife has accumulated a valuable farm, having
now one of the neatest and best improved farm
properties of the locality. In his business ca-
reer he has displayed many sterling traits of
character and through his farming operations
he has assisted materially in the development
of this part of the state. He and his wife have
many friends, to whom the hospitality of the
best homes of Lebanon township is cordially
extended, and they deserve mention in this vol-
ume among the leading residents of Clinton
county.
CHARLES H. GREEN.
Charles H. Green, one of the thrifty and
progressive farmers of Victor township, is liv-
ing on section 12, where he owns a well im-
proved tract of land of one hundred and twenty
acres. Forty-three years have come and gone
since he arrived in Clinton county and great
have been the changes that have been wrought
in this period. He was at that time a little
lad of only about three years, for his birth
occurred on the 28th of September, 1859, in
Victor township, Ontario county, New York.
His father, George Green, was born in England
and spent the days of his youth there. He
wedded Miss Essett Lanning, also a native of
England, and for some years after their mar-
riage they resided upon a farm in that country
where three children were born unto them.
With their family they then crossed the Atlantic
to the United States, settling in Ontario county,
New York, and in 1862 came westward to
Michigan, where the father made a permanent
location upon the farm that is now owned and
occupied by his son Charles. He bought land
that was covered with heavy timber and cut
away the forest trees, clearing and developing
the farm along modern lines of agricultural de-
velopment. There he reared his family and
spent his last days, his death occurring Febru-
ary 6, 1883. His wife survived him for a
few years and died in 1892. In their family
were five children, of whom three are living:
Martha, deceased; Hattie, widow of Reuben
Chant; Elizabeth, wife of Henry C. Kirk, of
Victor township; John, who died in early man-
hood; and Charles H.
Charles H. Green was reared upon the old
homestead farm and pursued his education in
the home schools. He continued to aid his
father in the operation of the place until the
latter's death, after which he purchased the
interest of the other heirs and succeeded to the
ownership of the property. He was married in
Shiawassee county, December 12, 1885, to Miss
Emmi A. Boylan, a native of Clinton county,
Michigan, and a daughter of J. C. Boylan, one
of the early settlers of Shiawassee county. He
immediately took his bride to the old home farm,
where he has since erected a neat new resi-
dence. Tn 1903 he had the misfortune to lose
his barn by fire and it was full of grain at the
time. He has recently completed a large base-
ment barn wThich is across the road from the
house. There are good outbuildings upon the
place and the latest improved machinery, also
an orchard and plenty of small fruit. He has
brought the land up to a high state of cultiva-
tion and now owns one hundred and twenty
acres in the old homestead and forty1seven acres
in another tract. He likewise has a good barn
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
on the second farm and both farms are highly
cultivated.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Green have been born
three children, Ethel, Vernie and Claude. The
wife and mother died March n, 1898, and was
laid to rest in Laingsburg cemetery. Politically
Mr. Green has been a stanch republican from
his youth to the present time but has never
sought or desired office. He and his family
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church
and he is a careful and successful business man,
seldom at fault in matters of business judg-
ment, while his reliability and integrity are
above question.
GEORGE W. FLETCHER.
George W. Fletcher, living on section 22,
Bath township, is one of the thrifty farmers
and stock-raisers of the community owning and
operating eighty acres of well improved land.
He was born in the town of Putnam, Living-
ston county, Michigan, January 6, 1841, and
is a son of Isaac Fletcher, whose birth occurred
in New York, where the days of his boyhood
and youth were passed. He was married there
to Esther Cole, a native of the same state, and
he followed the blacksmith's trade in connection
with general farming. While still residing in
the east two children were added to their family
and in the year 1837 Mr. Fletcher removed to
the west, establishing his home in Livingston
county, Michigan. There he followed general
agricultural pursuits and also carried on a
blacksmith shop. About 1845 he removed to
Clinton county, settling in Bath township on
section 33, where he built and conducted a shop,
doing work for the neighborhood for many
years. Upon the farm he reared his family
and spent his remaining days, passing away
about 1859. His wife survived him for several
years. They were the parents of four sons and
five daughters, all of whom reached adult age,
while three sons and three daughters are yet
living.
George W. Fletcher was reared in this state
and is indebted to the public-school system for
the educational privileges he enjoyed in his
youth. Through the summer months he aided
in the work of the farm and he remained upon
the old homestead until he had attained his ma-
jority. In fact he took charge of the home
place when about eighteen years of age and the
care and development of the farm devolved
upon him. In 1863 he purchased the place
where he now resides and in the midst of the
forest began the improvement of the eighty-acre
tract of land which at that time was all covered
with timber. This he at once began to clear
away and fence. His first residence was a log
cabin and he also built a log stable. Great
changes have since been wrought and the trans-
formation has been carried forward along pro-
gressive lines. He has erected a good two-
story residence, built a large basement barn, has
planted an orchard and has a neat and well im-
proved property and in connection with the rais-
ing of the cereals best adapted to soil and cli-
mate he also raises good grades of stock and
in both departments of his business is meeting
with success.
On the 9th of November, 1862, in Ingham
county, Mr. Fletcher was united in marriage
to Miss Arvilla V. Culver, who was born in
Oakland county, but was reared in Ingham
county, her parents being George and Olive
Culver, who removed from the former to the
latter county and became representative farm-
ing people there. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher have
become the parents of three children: Rose E.,
the wife of A. L. Showerman, a farmer of
Bath township; Ida M., the wife of W. D.
Harris, who follows farming in the same town-
ship; and Nettie J., who is the wife of George
W. Robson, a farmer owning and operating a
place adjoining Mr. Fletcher's farm.
Politically Mr. Fletcher is a stanch repub-
lican and cast his first presidential vote for
Abraham Lincoln in 1864, while by his last
ballot he supported Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.
He has never missed a general election and but
one town caucus and has taken an active part in
local political work. He has served as justice
of the peace, has also been highway commis-
sioner and in other positions of public trust has
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
359
ever been faithful to the duties that have de-
volved upon him. He is a member and director
of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company,
which solicits insurance and adjusts losses, and
is recognized as a good business man and suc-
cessful agriculturist, well known in Clinton and
Ingham counties, where he has the confidence
and esteem of the entire community. Both he
and his wife are members of the Freewill
Baptist church and have a favorable acquaint-
ance in the locality where they have now long
made their home.
MYRON A. KNIFFIN.
Myron A. Kniffin, a representative of com-
mercial and shipping interests in St. Johns, is
a native of Washtenaw county, Michigan, born
December 29, 1841. His father, Amos R.
Kniffin, was born in Seneca county, New
York, and having arrived at years of maturity
was married there to Miss Nancy Jeffery, like-
wise a native of that county. On coming to
Michigan in 1830 they settled in Washtenaw
county, becoming pioneer residents of that part
of the state, where the father carried on farm-
ing for a time. He returned to New York,
however, in 1850, and for four years was a res-
ident of Niagara county, again coming to
Michigan in 1854, when he located in Ovid
township, Clinton county. He was not long
permitted to enjoy his new home here, for he
died the following year when fifty years of
age. His widow survived him until 1870, pass-
ing away at the age of sixty-two years. In
their family were seven children, all of whom
have passed away with the exception of Myron
A., the fourth in order of birth, and one daugh-
ter, Louise M., now the wife of Newton W.
Bush, a leading attorney of Aberdeen, Wash-
ington. Those deceased are Milo A., who died
while with the Union army at Jackson, Missis-
sippi; John J., who was a soldier and after the
close of the war died from the effects of
wounds sustained in service; Grovier C, who
died in a Cincinnati hospital while a Union sol-
23
dier, and Mary Jane, the wife of Almeron
S to well.
Myron A. Kniffin was reared to farm life on
his father's place, where he remained until
eighteen years of age, when his patriotic spirit
was aroused and he responded to his country's
call, enlisting 011 the 10th of September, 1861,
as a member of Company B, Third Michigan
Cavalry. He was mustered into the service in
October and after one year he was honorably
discharged because of disability. He had par-
ticipated in the engagement at New Madrid,
Missouri. He is now a leading member of
Charles E. Grisson post, G. A. R., and in the
fall of 1904 was elected its commander.
Following his return from the army Mr.
Kniffin supplemented his district-school educa-
tion by a course in Eastman's Commercial Col-
lege at Chicago, after which he entered mer-
cantile life in 1867 and with the exception of
four years spent in Ludington, Michigan, he
has been continuously connected with mercan-
tile and shipping interests in St. Johns. He
conducts a store on Higham street, West, and
is agent for the sale of the Deering harvesting
machinery and all kinds of farm implements.
His business has now reached profitable pro-
portions and he is classed with the representa-
tive merchants of St. Johns.
On the 23d of May, 1869, Mr. Kniffin was
married to Miss Lominda Houston, a daughter
of Mathew and Arabella Houston, of Clinton
county. They have a son, Myron Houston,
who is now a bookkeeper in St. Johns National
Bank. The parents are members of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church, with which Mr. Kniffin
has been connected for many years and
through a long period he has served as trustee
and steward. He belongs to the Ancient Order
of United Workmen, in which he has filled a
number of the chairs, and in politics he is a
stalwart republican. He has been alderman
and a member of the board of education and
for four terms was supervisor. The public
trusts reposed in him have been faithfully per-
formed and he is a man of untarnished reputa-
tion in business circles, highly respected in his
community as a man of affairs and one who
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
has wielded a wide and helpful influence in be-
half of general improvement. A pioneer of
Clinton county he came to Ovid township in
1854 and has therefore been a resident of this
portion of the state for a half century.
DEACON CHARLES SEXTON.
Deacon Charles Sexton, numbered among the
early settlers of Michigan and of Clinton county
and for years one of the successful farmers of
Duplain township, now makes his home in
Elsie. He still owns, however, a farm of
eighty acres within one mile of the village and
it returns to him a gratifying annual income.
He has lived in the county since 1850 and,
possessing a remarkable memory of early
events, he relates in an interesting manner
many of the incidents which have left their
impress upon the public life and development
of this part of the state.
A native of Connecticut, Mr. Sexton was
born in Waterbury on the 12th of December,
1829, his parents being Mr. and Mrs. Henry
Sexton. His father was born in New York
city, was a mechanic and for seven
years worked in a clock factory. He
also engaged in shoemaking for a num-
ber of years and on removing from Connecticut
about 1836 he took up his abode in Medina
county, Ohio, settling on a farm in the town of
Brunswick, on which he reared his family. In
1850 he removed to Michigan, coming at once
to Elsie, where in connection with his son,
Charles Sexton, he entered land from the gov-
ernment in Duplain township.
Charles Sexton up to this time had accom-
panied his father on his various removals and
after they became landowners in Clinton county
he cleared and fenced the land, erected build-
ngs thereon and opened up a good farm. He
also assisted in clearing and improving other
farms, on which he put good residences, barns
and other outbuildings. For many years he
was actively connected with agricultural pur-
suits but eventually removed to Elsie, where he
purchased a residence and made his home for
three years. During that time, however, he
gave much of his attention to the work of the
old homestead property.
Mr. Sexton was married first in Ohio, re-
turning to that state, where in October, 1852,
he wedded Miss Nancy M. Lewis, a native of
Newr York, who wrent to Ohio in her girlhood
days. She was a faithful companion and help-
mate to her husband for many years and her
death occurred in Elsie on the 14th of De-
cember, 1900. In their family were three chil-
dren who are still living: Alice, the wife of
George Meacher, of Otsego county, New York ;
Melvin M., a business man of Gay lord, New
York; and Ernest J., who follows farming
near Elsie. They also lost five children : Mar-
tin V., who died at the age of six years; Wil-
liam J., who also passed away when about six
years of age; Dr. Harry L. Sexton, who died
when a young man after having graduated from
the Cleveland Medical College; George E., who
wras a teacher and died at the age of twenty-
one years. On the 4th of June, 1903, in St.
Johns, Mr. Sexton was again married, his sec-
ond union being with Mrs. Martha Wooley,
a native of Canada, who came to Michigan
when a child and was reared and educated in
Ingham and Jackson counties. Her father was
Rev. William E. Whitney, a minister of the
Freewill Baptist church. She first gave her
hand in marriage to Isaac Wooley and they
located in Gratiot county, where he followed
the occupation of farming and remained up to
the time of his death, which occurred in 1896.
He was a prominent farmer there for thirty-
seven years and passed away at the age of
sixty-seven years, leaving one son, James A.
Wooley, who is now residing in Elsie.
Mr. Sexton was a republican in his political
views for many years but now gives his sup-
port to the prohibition party. He served as
commissioner of highways for six years, was
long a member of the school board and has
been a member of the village board. He holds
membership in the Freewill Baptist church, was
one of the building committee at the time of
the erection of the house of worship at Elsie
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CHARLES SEXTON.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
36:
and has served as church trustee, while in the
work of the church he has been very active and
influential. He also served as chorister for a
number of years, was one of the first Sunday-
school superintendents and was clerk of the
church for twenty-seven years. His efforts in
behalf of the church and Sunday-school have
been far-reaching and beneficial and he is now
the oldest deacon in the church. In April, 1900,
he took up his abode in Elsie, where he has
since made his home. He is honored as a man
of genuine worth, of high principle and of un-
faltering fidelity to whatever he believes to be
right, and throughout the community he has
commanded the respect and confidence of all
with whom he has come in contact.
E. A. LITCHFIELD.
E. A. Litchfield, the present efficient post-
master of Elsie and an active business man, is
one of the native sons of Duplain township,
born January 25, 1876. His father, Joseph A.
Litchfield, was a native of England, born in
Staffordshire in August, 1840. With his mother
he came to the new world in his childhood
days, arriving in the United States in 1846.
His father died while they were on the voyage.
The mother located with her family in Lorain
county, Ohio, where Joseph A. Litchfield was
reared to manhood and learned the stonemason's
trade. He followed that business for a few
years and later was connected with the Lake
Shore and Erie railroads, being engaged as
overseer on the construction of stone work on
the bridges of those lines for several years. He
gave up that line of work on account of ill
health and came to Michigan, settling on a farm
in Shiawassee county, where he spent his re-
maining days, his death occurring in February,
1888. His wife still survives him and yet re-
sides in Elsie.
E. A. Litchfield was reared to manhood on
the old home farm in Shiawassee county and
remained with his mother until he attained
adult age, his education being acquired in the
public schools. He was married in Shiawassee
county, November 7, 1891, to Miss Amy Saw-
yer, who was born, reared and educated in that
county, and was a daughter of Richard Saw-
yer, one of the first settlers of Owosso.
Following his marriage Mr. Litchfield en-
gaged in operating the old home farm for eight
years and later bought the property but after-
ward sold it. In May, 1904, he purchased one
hundred and twenty acres of land in Saginaw
county but never resided thereon, although it
was his intention to do so when he bought the
property. In 1898 he removed to Elsie and
purchased residence property. Here he turned
his attention to carpentering but later made a
specialty of drilling and putting in wells. He
has sunk a great many wells in Clinton, Shia-
wassee, Saginaw and Gratiot counties. He has
also done some work for the Elsie Concrete
Bridge Company and is a practical mechanic
and successful business man, possessing much
energy and capability and successfully accom-
plishing all that he undertakes.
Politically Mr. Litchfield has always been a
republican and while residing in Shiawassee
county he was elected and served as highway
commissioner of Fairfield township. He has
since served as treasurer of Duplain township,
Clinton county, and also as a member of the
Elsie school board, and in 1905 he was ap-
pointed postmaster of Elsie, giving to the town
a public-spirited and efficient administration in
that office, discharging his duties with credit to
himself and satisfaction to the community at
large.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Litchfield have been born
four children, Vera J., Verna A., Joseph C. and
Lee J. The parents are members of the Elsie
Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr.
Litchfield is serving as trustee, and he is also an
active and faithful Sunday-school worker,
formerly serving as Sunday-school superintend-
ent at Chapin. He belongs to Elsie lodge, A.
F. & A. M., and also the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. He has filled various offices in
these organizations and is a past grand of the
Odd Fellows and served as district deputy.
He is also a member of the encampment of the
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3^4
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Odd Fellows, in which he is past chief patriarch,
and he and his wife affiliate with the Daugh-
ters of Rebekah. He is well known in Clin-
ton, Shiawassee and Saginaw counties as a
man of business integrity and worth and has
made for himself a creditable name and gained
a gratifying measure of success during the
years of an active business career.
JOHN W. YOURY.
John W. Youry, an active and energetic
farmer, owning eigthy acres of land on section
22, Bath township, and also a tract of fifteen
acres on section 27, was born upon the farm
where he yet resides, his natal day being Sep-
tember 21, 1858. His father, Washington
Youry, was born in Orange county, New York,
in 1833, and after arriving at years of maturity
was married there to Sarah A. Conklin, also a
native of the Empire state. For several years
they remained residents of New York and in
1852 removed westward to Michigan, estab-
lishing their permanent home in Bath town-
ship, Clinton county, where the father pur-
chased the land upon which his son John W.
now resides. It was in a state of nature, cov-
ered with the forest growth, but he at once cut
down the trees, cleared the land and prepared
it for the plow, dividing it into fields of con-
venient size by well kept fences. As the years
passed by he thus opened up his farm and the
old homestead continued to be his place of res-
idence until the time of his death, which oc-
curred in 1890. His wife survived him for
about ten years and passed away in 1900. In
the family of this worthy couple were three
sons and three daughters.
John W. Youry, spending his boyhood days
upon the old home farm here, made his way
each morning through the winter months to
the little schoolhouse of the neighborhood,
wherein he mastered the branches of the Eng-
lish learning there taught. In the summer sea-
sons he assisted in the labors of the fields, re-
maining with his father until the latter's death
and afterward purchasing the interest of the
other heirs in the old homestead until he had
succeeded to the ownership of the property. As
a companion and helpmate for life's journey
he chose Mrs. Sarah Schoals and they were
married in Bath, March 22, 1900. She is a
native of this county, her birth having occurred
in Olive township, her father being S. W.
Newman of the same township. By her for-
mer marriage she had four children, Alfred,
Flossie G., Loy J. and Albert H. Schoals. Mr.
and Mrs. Youry have a daughter, Hazel A.
When age gave to Mr. Youry the right of
franchise he became a stanch advocate of re-
publican principles but later joined the ranks of
the prohibition party. He was elected and
served for two consecutive terms as township
treasurer, has also been school assessor, school
inspector and a delegate to the county conven-
tions. He and his wife are members of the
Freewill Baptist church and are people of the
highest respectability, known and honored by
all because of their fidelity to principle.
Having learned the trade of carpenter and
joiner in early life Mr. Youry has erected upon
his farm a good neat two-story residence, also
substantial barns, and now has a well improved
place. For fifteen years he has been known as
a contractor and builder, doing work in the
surrounding country, and various farm houses,
barns, granaries and other buildings of his
part of the county stand as monuments to his
labor and enterprise. He has always been an
industrious, energetic man, and whatever he
has undertaken has been carried forward to
successful completion.
J. L. MELVIN.
J. L. Melvin, living on section 35, Dewitt
township, is a native son of Clinton county, his
birth having occurred on this farm March 24,
1872. His father was a native of England
and when a young man crossed the briny deep
to the new world, settling first in the state of
New York. While living there he joined the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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United States navy and served through the war
of the Rebellion, participating in numerous im-
portant engagements. After his discharge from
the military service of his adopted country he
came to the west and purchased land whereon
his son now resides. At that time it was in
the midst of the forest and not a stick of tim-
ber had been cut on the place, the green trees
standing in their primeval strength just as they
came from the hand of nature. He began here
with eighty acres of land, which in due course
of time he" cleared and fenced, thus opening up
a good farm. He afterward added eighty acres
more and erected thereon a large residence, also
built good barns and outbuildings and made a
valuable property. In the Empire state he was
married to Miss Grace McConkey, a native of
Canada, reared in that place. Mr. Melvin con-
tinued to reside upon the old homestead until
his death, which occurred September 27, 1897,
while his wife survived until April 4, 1899.
They had become the parents of two sons and
two 'daughters: J. L., of this review; R. B. ;
Mary B. ; and Sarah E., the last named being
the wife of Frank Chapin, of Hillsdale, Michi-
prosperous farmer of Dewitt township. Mr.
and Mrs. Melvin have one son, Leland R., and
they lost their first born, Chester J., who died
February 4, 1892, when three months old.
Politically Mr. Melvin is a democrat where
national issues are involved but at local elec-
tions votes independently, supporting men and
measures whom he regards as best qualified for
office. He has never desired or sought for
office nor served in official positions save as a
member of the school board and as district clerk.
He and his wife are valued members of the
Franklin Avenue Presbyterian church of
Lansing and he belongs to Protection lodge,
No. 321, I. O. O. F., there, in which he is
serving as one of the officers. His religious and
fraternal relations indicate the high standard
of conduct and the upright principles which he
endorses and his life has been in harmony there-
with. He has a wide acquaintance in the
county where he has always lived and where he
has so directed his efforts as to gain both suc-
cess and an honorable name.
ean.
J. L. Melvin spent the days of his boyhood
and youth upon the old family homestead, no
event of special importance occurring to vary
the routine of farm life for him in his boy-
hood clays. He was educated in the common
schools and in Lansing Business College and
after arriving at mature years he took charge
of the farm and business and has succeeded to
the old home place, owning now one hundred
and sixty acres of productive land on section
35, Dewitt township, pleasantly and con-
veniently located within two and a half miles
of Lansing.
On the* 28th of September, 1898, in Dewitt
township, Mr. Melvin was married to Augusta
L. Heidt, who was born, reared and educated
in that township and the high school of
Lansing. Her father, John E. Heidt, was born
on Long Island, New York, and was reared
and educated there. He was married to
Josephine Baumgrass and in his family were
two sons and four daughters. He is now a
GEORGE H. DODGE.
George H. Dodge, who in a well spent life
has commanded the respect and confidence of
those with whom he has been associated and
has also won a gratifying measure of success,
was born in Massachusetts, on the 7th of Janu-
ary, 1834, his parents being Harvey and Lu-
cretia (Barton) Dodge, who were likewise na-
tives of the old Bay state. The Dodge family
was established in America by three brothers
who came from Somersetshire, England, and
resided in Beverly, Massachusetts, thus found-
ing the family from which our subjcet is de-
scended. The first of this line was William
Dodge, son of John Dodge, of Somersetshire,
England, who took up his abode in Salem,
Massachusetts, in 1629. Paul Dodge, the
grandfather of our subject, was born in Dud-
lev, Massachusetts, in 1774, and was married
to Rhoda White, of Charlton, that state. Their
children were: Barney; Harvey, the father of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
our subject; and Lucy, who became the wife of
Curtis Phillips.
In the year 1856 Harvey Dodge and his
family came from New England to Michigan,
settling on the northwest corner of section
24, Ovid township, where Mr. Dodge became
the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of
wild and unimproved land. With character-
istic energy, however, he began the develop-
ment of his farm, upon which he spent his re-
maining days, his death occurring in 1873.
when he was seventy-three years of age. His
wife passed away in 1858, at the age of fifty-
eight years. In their family were five children :
Lewris, deceased; Sallie; Mary; Eliza, the
widow of William Barton, of Ovid; and
George, of this review. In the maternal line
Mr. Dodge is also of English lineage for the
Bartons were from England and Joseph Bar-
ton, the maternal grandfather, lived in Charl-
ton, Massachusetts. '
George H. Dodge acquired only a limited
education and at the age of twelve years began
working in a cotton factory, where he re-
mained for a year. When a youth of thirteen
he had the opportunity of attending school for
four months and later he worked upon a farm,
while subsequently he spent some time at farm-
ing on his father's place. He was employed in
a sash and blind factory and at the shoe-
maker's trade but believing that he might have
better business opportunities in the middle
west he came to Michigan in 1856, settling in
Ovid. His father entered one hundred and
sixty acres of land from the government
whereon Mr. Dodge now resides. In 1858 the
latter returned to Massachusetts but in 1867
again came to Michigan and has since lived
upon the old farm. It was wild and wooded
and George H. Dodge has cleared sixty acres
of this place, wrhile his father cleared the re-
mainder. He has erected all of the buildings
upon the farm and has to-day a model and val-
uable property equipped with all the accesso-
ries and conveniences known to a model farm
of the twentieth century.
In 1856 Mr. Dodge was united in marriage
to Miss Mary A. Dodge, a daughter of Jenni-
son Dodge, of Dudley, Massachusetts. She
died in the year 1862 and Mr. Dodge was again
married on the 8th of December, 1870, his sec-
ond union being with Sarah A. Briggs, a daug-
ter of William and Marie (Thomas) Briggs, of
Yates county, New York, who came to Michi-
gan, settling in Victor township in 1869. Her
father died December 28, 1904, at the vener-
able age of eighty-five years, while his wife
passed away September 22, 1894, at the age of
seventy-one years. In their family were nine
children, of whom four are yet living, Mrs.
Dodge being the eldest while the others are :
William, a resident of Traverse City, Michi-
gan; James, who is living in Ovid; and George,
also of Ovid.
Mr. Dodge exercises his right of franchise
in support of men and measures of the repub-
lican party but has never desired or sought
office although he served for one term as dep-
uty sheriff. He is a man reliable in business and
public life, and is regarded as one of the lead-
ing citizens of his community. He has borne
his full share in the work of making this region
one of the productive centers of the state and
as an agriculturist has won a gratifying meas-
ure of prosperity.
WILLIAM IVES.
William Ives, one of the successful agri-
culturists of Olive township whose farm of two
hundred acres on section 36 gives every evi-
dence of careful management and practical
methods, has been a resident of Clinton county
since 1854 and in the half century which has
since come and gone he has so lived as to en-
joy in unqualified measure the respect and the
confidence of his fellowmen. He is a native of
Niagara county, New York, born February 14,
1843, ms parents being Warren and Marietta
(Bronson) Ives. The father was born in
Cayuga county, New York, in 1802 and was
a son of Squire Ives, a native of Ireland, who
on crossing the Atlantic to America became one
of the early settlers of Niagara county. War-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
367
ten Ives was reared in the county of his na-
tivity and was there married to Marietta Bron-
son, whose birth occurred in Niagara county
and who was a daughter of Samuel Bronson.
In the year 1845 Mr- and Mrs- Ives removecJ
westward to Michigan, settling in Oakland
county, where they remained for nine years and
then in T854 came to Clinton county, the father
purchasing the farm upon which William Ives
now resides. He worked hard and perseveringly
in order to cut down the trees, clear the land
and transform the place into productive fields,
but his labors were at length rewarded by good
crops, and he continued to profitably conduct his
farm until his death, which occurred in 1867.
His wife survived him for twenty years, pass-
ing away in 1887. In their family were eleven
children of whom two sons and three daugh-
ters are living, the brother of William Ives
being Washington Ives, a resident of Benton
Harbor, Michigan. The sisters are: Mrs. Mel-
vina Dehor, of Laingsburg, Michigan; Sarah
Ann, the wife of Wells Aldridge, of Washing-
ton; and Mary J., the wife of William Webb,
of St. Johns.
William Ives was reared upon the home farm
and helped improve the fields and carry on the
work of the place until in early manhood he
purchased his father's interests and cared for
his parents in their declining years. He has
built a large brick residence, has put in a wind-
pump, has added the latest improved machinery
and in fact carries on his farm work in such a
manner that his labors are attended with a high
measure of success. He has also built a tenant
house that is occupied by his son. In connec-
tion with the tilling of the soil he is engaged in
raising good grades of cattle and horses but
makes a specialty of Shropshire sheep.
In September, 1866, Mr. Ives was united in-
marriage to Miss Cynthia A. Fitz, a native of
Eaton county, Michigan, and a daughter of
George Fitz, formerly of Niagara county, New
York. They have become the parents of four
children: Myrtle, who married George Beeler
and they took up their abode on her father's
farm, where she died about 1894; George, who
died in infancy; Emerson, who is married and
lives on the farm; and Enza L. D., who also
aids in the operation of his father's place.
Politically Mr. Ives is a stanch democrat but
has always preferred that others should hold
office, while he devotes his attention to his
private business interests. He is well known
in St. Johns and Clinton county as a prosper-
ous and well-to-do farmer and for more than a
half century has lived upon this place which is
yet his home. He can remember when it was
a heavily timbered region covered with the na-
tive forest trees but long since these have been
replaced by fields of waving grain, which in
connection with the rich pasture land makes
his place one of the valuable farm properties
of the county.
WILLIAM A. NORTON.
William A. Norton, figuring prominently in
legal and political circles of Clinton county and
of the state and wielding a wide influence in
public thought and action, is now engaged in
practicing at St. Johns as a member of the
firm of Norton & Jameson. He was born in
the village of Farmington, Oakland county,
Michigan, October 24, 1853. His paternal
grandfather came from the Empire state to
Michigan, settling near Rochester, Oakland
county. He was the first minister of the Bap-
tist church in this state. His son, the Rev.
William R. Norton, was born in New York
and was one of a family of five children, all of
whom are now deceased, namely: John M.,
Myron H., Erastus, William R. and Christo-
pher. Rev. William R. Norton also became a
Freewill Baptist clergyman. He was educated
in Rochester (New York) Academy and was
the founder of the Rose Baptist church in Bath
township, the first organization of that denom-
ination in Clinton county. He preached there
and at other points for a number of years, his
labors contributing in substantial measure to
the moral development of the community. His
consecration and earnest devotion to the work
made his influence a potent power for good and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
it is yet a moving force in the lives of many
who knew him and came under his teachings.
He married Miss Phebe A. Abel, also a native
of the Empire state, and they became the par-
ents of two children : William A. and Sarah,
the deceased wife of Wheaton Velhon. By a
previous marriage to Miss Gardner the father
had four children : Walter, who was wounded
in the army and died from the effects of his in-
juries; Mary, the deceased wife of Richard
Perry, of Howard City, Michigan; Loren, de-
ceased; and Charles, who died in Duplain
township. Rev. William R. Norton passed
away in Duplain township in 1902, at the age
of eighty years, while his second wife still sur-
vives.
William A. Norton attended successively
the common schools, Hillsdale College and the
Agricultural College at Lansing, Michigan,
and he began preparation for his chosen pro-
fession as a student in the law office of the
firm of McPeek & Tinkham, of Grand Ledge,
Michigan. He was admitted to the Clinton
county bar in the summer of 1878 and began
the practice of law at Grand Ledge, but soon
afterward removed to Boyne, Michigan, where
in 1880 he was elected prosecuting attorney of
Charlevoix county, serving for two terms or
four years. He came to Clinton county in
1888, settling in St. Johns, where he succeeded
Judge S. B. Daboll, of the firm of Daboll &
Brunson, the new firm assuming the name of
Norton & Brunson. Since that time Mr. Nor-
ton has been successively a member of the
firms of Norton & Weimer, Spaulding, Norton
& Weimer, Spaulding, Norton & Dooling, Nor-
ton & Dooling and now Norton & Jameson.
The firm enjoys a large and growing clientage,
being connected with much of the important
litigation of the district. Mr. Norton has been
prosecuting attorney of Clinton county for two
terms. Nature bountifully endowed him with
the peculiar qualifications that combine to
make a successful lawyer. Patiently persever-
ing, possessed of an analytical mind and one
that is readily receptive and retentive of the
fundamental principles and intricacies of «the
law; gifted with a spirit of devotion to weari-
some details, quick to comprehend the most
subtle problems, and logical in his conclusions,
fearless in the advocacy of any cause he may
espouse and the soul of honor and integrity,
few men have been more richly gifted for the
achievement of success in the arduous and dif-
ficult profession of the law.
Prominent in the ranks of the republican
party, in Michigan during the campaigns Mr.
Norton delivers many public addresses under
the auspices of the state central committee and
is one of the leading orators of Michigan. He
has been both temporary and permanent chair-
man of the judicial and state conventions in
Grand Rapids and his opinions carry weight in
councils of his party.
In January, 188 1, Mr. Norton was married
to Miss Lillian E. Messenger, a daughter of
Dr. Sanford Messenger, of Grand Ledge, and
they have two sons : Guy William and Russell
F. The former has completed the literary
course of the University of Michigan, having
graduated with the class of 1905, and the latter
was a graduate of the high school of St. Johns
in the same year. Mr. Norton is a member of
the Knights of Pythias fraternity and has at-
tained the Knight Templar degree in Masonic
circles. He is a man of action rather than the-
ory and his interest in the leading questions of
the day has led to active support of what he be-
lieves to be right. He has a wide acquaintance
throughout the state and has for some time
been a leader in thought and action in the pub-
lic life of Michigan, his name being inscribed
high on the roll of its leading citizens.
EDWARD R. LESTER.
Edward R. Lester, superintendent of the
county poor farm, was born in Ohio, May it,
i860, and is a son of Miles and Electa (Green-
wood) Lester, the former a native of New York
and the latter of New Hampshire. Removing
westward to Ohio, the father there followed the
occupation of farming, and his wife died in
that state in 1863, after which he married Miss
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MR. AND MRS. E. R. LESTER.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
371
Slieceman, of Indiana. In 1865 they came to
Clinton county and Mr. Lester made his home
in Shepardsville, Ovid township, working in
the sawmill of Shephard & Sons. Eventually,
however, he gave up the mill work and rented
the Kellogg farm, which he operated until 1880,
when he bought eighty acres of land in Ovid
township, residing thereon until 1901, when he
sold the property and took up his abode in
Saginaw, Michigan, subsequent to which time
he assisted in the operation of his son's farm
until his death in 1903. His remains were then
brought back to Ovid and interred in Maple
Grove cemetery, the funeral services being con-
ducted by the Masonic fraternity, to which he
belonged, his membership being in Ovid lodge.
He left two children of the first marriage, Ed-
ward R. and George H., the latter of Saginaw,
with whom the father had been living prior to
his death and a daughter by the second mar-
riage, Mrs. Mary Pinkbinder, also of Saginaw.
Edward R. Lester was only three years of
age at the time of his mother's death, after
which he went to live with his maternal grand-
mother near Hamilton, Ohio, and attended
school there until 1870, when he returned to
Shepardsville, Michigan, living with his father
until 1882. He then started out to make his
own way in the world by working as a farm
hand and in 1885 he purchased forty acres of
his father's farm but operated the entire tract
for two years. He then entered the employ of
J. D. McCollum, with whom he worked for ten
years and on the expiration of that period he
came to Bingham township to accept the ap-
pointment of superintendent of the county farm,
which position he has continuously and satis-
factorily filled since 1899 or for six years. This
farm comprises one hundred and fifty-five acres
of improved land, the proceeds of which are
used to provide a home for the poor of the
county, numbering about thirty-three persons,
who are annually taken care of. About fifteen
acres of the farm are covered with the build-
ings and orchard, while the remainder is de-
voted to general agricultural pursuits. Each
year about twenty acres are planted to oats, six-
teen acres to wheat, eight acres to beans,
twenty-three acres to corn, three acres to pota-
toes and forty acres to hay, and in connection
with the farm they have a dairy with a cream
separator. Every effort is made to have a
healthful and home-like place for the poor and
Mr. Lester has very capably managed the in-
terests of this county institution.
On the 8th of October, 1885, occurred the
marriage of Edward R. Lester and Miss Maud
Kidd, a daughter of James and Malvina
(Lundy) Kidd, of Ovid township. Her par-
ents were natives of Canada, coming to Clin-
ton county in 1882, at which time the father
purchased land in Ovid township. Her mother
died in 1903, leaving a husband, four sons and
two daughters to mourn her loss. Mr. Kidd
died July 1, 1905. The sons and daughters
are : Frank, who is farming in Ovid township ;
George, William and Theodore, all in the west ;
Mrs. Ed Taylor, of Eaton county; and Mrs.
Lester. In the maternal line Mrs. Lester is
descended from a prominent family figuring in
history in connection with the war between
England and France and the battle of Lundy's
Lane was fought on her grandfather's farm.
Our subject and his wife have one child, Claude
R., born January 21, 1889. Mr. Lester be-
longs to St. Johns lodge, No. 81, I. O. O. R,
and both he and his wife are connected with the
Rebekah lodge there.
CHARLES L. WARREN.
Charles L. Warren, who has prospered in his
farming operations in Victor township and
whose landed possessions comprise two hun-
dred and thirty-seven acres on section 1, is
numbered among the native sons of Clinton
county, his birth having occurred in Ovid town-
ship, on the 27th of August, 1866. His father,
Francis W. Warren, likewise a native of Michi-
gan, was born in the town of Leona, Jackson
county, on the 30th of September, 1836. His
father, Lyman Warren, was a native of Ver-
mont, in which state he was reared to manhood
and was there united in marriage to Isabella
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Buss, also a native of Vermont. Removing to
the west he settled in Jackson county, Michigan,
in 1835, establishing his home in the midst of
the green woods, where he developed a farm of
eighty acres. Later he sold that property and
became railroad agent at different points. Sub-
sequently he took up his abode in Calhoun
county, Michigan, where he spent his last days.
By his first marriage he had two children.
One of these, Francis W. Warren, was
reared and educated in Jackson county, and also
spent four terms as a student in a college at
Albion, Michigan. In 186 1 he enlisted in the
First Michigan Lancers as a member of Com-
pany D. He became quartermaster sergeant
of the company and was connected with cavalry
service in this state until discharged in 1862.
He was also recruiting officer of the company
for three months. Later Mr. Warren hired a
substitute who wxnt to the front for him. On
the 27th of October, 1862, he was married in
Victor township, Clinton county, to Miss L.
Coats, a native of New York but reared in
Michigan. The young couple located in the
town of Dewitt, where Mr. Warren engaged
in farming for three years. He then removed
to Ovid township and bought eighty acres of
land which was heavily timbered. He at once
began to clear away the trees and brush, how-
ever, and in the course of time developed a good
farm, whereon he resided for six years. He
then sold out and removed to Jackson county
but in 1872 again came to Clinton county and
bought land in Victor township, whereon he en-
gaged in farming for a number of years. Sub-
sequently, however, he abandoned agricultural
life and he and his wife now reside in the home
of their son Charles L. Warren, so that he is
now enjoying a well earned rest, after many
years of close connection with agricultural in-
terests in this section of Michigan. In the fam-
ily were two sons and two daughters who
reached years of maturity: Luella, who was
married and died leaving two children; Mary,
the wife of Charles Leech, of Perry, Shia-
wassee county; Charles L., of this review; arid
Edward, a resident farmer of Victor town-
ship. They also lost three children in early
life: E. Clayton, who died at the age of two
years; Ida and Verna, both of whom were
about six months old at the time of death.
Charles L. Warren was reared in Clinton
county and acquired his education in the com-
mon schools. He remained with his father until
he had attained his majority and was then
united in marriage, in Victor township, on the
farm where he now resides, to Miss Minnie
Swarthout, the wedding being celebrated No-
vember 2jy 1888. She was born and reared on
this farm and is a daughter of Isaac Swarthout,
one of the early settlers of Clinton county, com-
ing to Michigan from the state of New York.
He was but a child when he arrived here and
eventually he became one of the prominent men
of Clinton county. Fleeted to the office of su-
pervisor he was again and again chosen to the
same position until he had served for sixteen
years. Mrs. Warren was reared and educated
in Clinton county and here made her home until
her death, which occurred in 1892. Following
his first marriage Mr. Warren cultivated a
rented farm for three years, after which he re-
moved to the Swarthout farm and began its
further development and improvement. There
were but sixty-seven acres of land under culti-
vation at the time he took up his abode on this
place but he has since cleared and fenced the
greater part of the remainder and now has over
one hundred acres under cultivation. His resi-
dence is substantial and commodious and there
are good barns and outbuildings upon the place
which altogether is a well improved farm, giv-
ing every evidence in its neat and thrifty ap-
pearance of the careful sunpet vision and pro-
gressive methods of the owner.
For his second wife Mr. Warren chose Miss
Emma Swarthout, a sister of his first wife.
They were the two children of Isaac Swarthout,
and both were accorded liberal educational
privileges, attending school in Lansing and both
were successful teachers prior to their marriage.
There was one son by the first marriage, Ernest
Clare Warren.
Politically Mr. Warren is a prohibitionist and
his son is identified with the same party but
neither have sought or desired office. He and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
373
his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal
church, while Francis Warren and his wife
are members of the United Brethren church.
Charles L. Warren is a member of the local
Grange and is an agriculturist whose well di-
rected business interests make him a represent-
ative citizen of the community. His entire life
has been passed in this county and the fact that
many of his stanchest friends are numbered
among those who have known him from his
boyhood to the present time is an indication of
an honorable career.
TOSEPH TERRY.
Joseph Terry, a representative of a valued
class of pioneer settlers and a retired farmer,
is now living in St. Johns. The place of his
nativity was Tompkins county, New York,
where he was born May 7, 1829. The Terrys
are of French lineage and the branch of the
family to which Joseph Terry belongs was de-
scended from one of two brothers who came
to America from France a few generations ago
and settled in New England. Elijah H. Terry,
father of our subject, was a native of the state
of New York and was a carpenter and joiner.
He came to Michigan in 1853, settling in
Washtenaw county near Ann Arbor, and later
he went to Illinois, where he spent two years.
He then returned to Clinton county, Michigan,
living for a time in Victor township and after-
ward in Ovid, whence he removed to Middle-
bury, Shiawassee county, where his remaining
days were passed, his death occurring at the
very venerable age of ninety-two years. In the
east he had married Margaret Canan, also a
native of New^ York, and her death occurred
in 1885, when she was- eighty-six years of age.
Joseph Terry was the youngest son in their
family of eight children, of whom the living
are: Isaac, a resident of Dexter, Michigan;
John, who is living in Aurora, Illinois; Zilpha,
the widow of John Finley, of Aurora; and
Elizabeth, the widow of M. Wade. Those de-
ceased are Samantha, who married Robert Stitt ;
and Lucretia, the widow of John Cross, late of
Clinton county.
Joseph Terry received but limited educational
privileges and entered upon his business career
in Washtenaw county, where under the direc-
tion of his father he learned the trade of a
carpenter, joiner and millwright, beginning
work at the age of fourteen years. He was
thus engaged until 1850, when he went to De-
Kalb county, Illinois, where he was employed
by his uncle on a farm. In 1855 he returned
to Michigan, having in the meantime invested
the wages which he made in Illinois in a one-
hundred-and-sixtv-acre tract of timber land in
Victor township, this county. With his own
hand he cut down the first tree hewn upon the
place. The next year he built a log house and
in the spring following he moved into this
cabin accompanied by his mother and youngest
sister. Two years later his father returned from
Illinois and it was subsequent to this time that
Elijah Terry took up his abode in Ovid.
After Joseph Terry had lived on his farm
for two years he encountered hard times and
not having the capital necessary to carry on the
work, the farm at that time not being self-sup-
porting, he resumed work at his trade in
Washtenaw county, being there connected with
building pursuits for two years. During that
time he married, after which he returned to his
land, determined to make it a profitable property.
Here he lived and prospered for fifty years. He
cleared all but twenty acres of the original tract
and he bought additional land until he had four
hundred acres on sections 18 and 19, Vinton
township. All this represented days, months
and years of active and persistent labor from
early dawn until the set of sun, but his persist-
ency of purpose at length triumphed over all
obstacles and in due course of time he became
possessed of a handsome competence. He con-
tinued on his farm until December, 1903, when
he sold that property and removed to St. Johns.
He had previously erected the finest farm house
in the county at a cost of three thousand dol-
lars. He had also built big barns and other
necessary structures for the shelter of grain and
stock, and upon his lawn had planted fine elm,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
maple and evergreen trees. His place was
splendidly improved and was a fitting monu-
ment to his life of industry and enterprise. In
April, 1905, he bought one hundred and eight
acres a half mile east of the corporate limits of
St. Johns.
On the 25th of March, i860, Mr. Terry was
married to Miss Margaret Ann McCutcheon,
a daughter of Andrew McCutcheon, of Washte-
naw county, Michigan. Mr. Terry is a re-
publican, having cast his first presidential vote
for John C. Fremont, since which time he has
been a stalwart advocate of the party. He has
belonged to the Masonic fraternity since 1870,
joining the lodge at Laingsburg, Shiawassee
county. Although now living a retired life he
still gives supervision to his invested interests.
His has been an active and successful career
and he is moreover known as one of the promi-
nent pioneer settlers of the county, having taken
an active part in reclaiming its wild lands and
in promoting the work of improvement along
various lines of practical utility. His mind
carries the picture of pioneer times and condi-
tions and he can relate many interesting inci-
dents of early days here.
EDWARD A. REED.
Edward A. Reed, who follows general farm-
ing in Essex township where he has one hun-
dred acres of land, his home being within the
corporate limits of Maple Rapids, dates his resi-
dence in the county from 1872. A large pro-
portion of the citizens of this section of Michi-
gan have come from New York, and Mr. Reed
belongs to this class, his birth having occurred
in Wayne county of the Empire state, on the 3d
of October, 1850. His father, Bethuel Reed,
was a native of Massachusetts, where he was
reared and married, the lady of his choice being
Miss Elizabeth Bloomer, a native of New York.
Emigrating westward he settled in South Bend,
Indiana, where he spent his remaining days.
Edward A. Reed was a young lad when he
accompanied his parents to Indiana and there
he supplemented his early educational privileges
by study in high school. After putting aside
his text-books he prepared for life's practical
and responsible duties by learning the carriage-
painting trade, which he began in South Bend
but completed in Detroit, Michigan. He then
went to Portland, this state, where he formed
the acquaintance of Mr. Schofield, and entering
into partnership with him they established a
carriage factory in Elsie, Michigan, but soon
afterward removed to Ovid and began business
there. Mr. Reed furnished the capital and they
carried on business together for two or three
years, securing a good patronage. At length
Mr. Reed sold out and went to Florida, where
he spent a few months. After his return to
the north he engaged in general merchandising
and purchased a store at Maple Rapids^ carry-
ing on the business for eleven years with ex-
cellent success. He employed four or five clerks
during a portion of the time and had a large
trade which made the enterprise a good source
of profit. Following his marriage he took
charge of the farm upon which he now resides
and his attention at the present time is given
entirely to agricultural pursuits.
Mr. Reed was married in Maple Rapids, in
1893, to Mrs. O. F. Peck, a native of Cortland
county, New York, where she was reared and
educated. There she gave her hand in marriage
to O. F. Peck, with whom she removed to the
west, settling in Maple Rapids. Mr. Peck pur-
chased a farm here and in connection with agri-
cultural pursuits carried on merchandising and
was also active in community affairs, serving
as one of the county officers. It was after his
marriage to Mrs. Peck that Mr. Reed took
charge of the farm and business. For many
years Mrs. Reed successfully engaged in teach-
ing music.
Politically Mr. Reed is an earnest republican
and has served as a member of the village board,
as trustee, assessor and as a member of the
school board for several years. The trust re-
posed in him is well placed for in the discharge
of his duties he is ever prompt and faithful. He
and his wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church. He is a Master Mason of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
375
the lodge at Maple Rapids and also belongs to
St Johns chapter, R. A. M., and of the former
has served as secretary for several years. Well
known as a manufacturer, merchant and agri-
culturist in Clinton county, he has a wide ac-
quaintance throughout this part of the state and
is known as a gentleman of integrity and worth,
well meriting the confidence reposed in him. In
manner he is genial and cordial, winning friends
through a kindly disposition and deference for
the opinions of others. He is now widely
known and is deserving of mention with the
representative citizens of this part of the county.
A. B. DEXTER.
A. B. Dexter, an agriculturist of Greenbush
township, living on section 9, was born upon
this farm, April 27, 1864. His father, Chaun-
cey Dexter, was a native of Canandagua county,
New York, and was a son of Knight Dexter,
one of the old residents of the Empire state.
Chauncey Dexter went with his father to Ohio
in his childhood days and lived there for a num-
ber of years. The grandfather afterwards came
to Michigan, settling in Clinton county, where
he bought eighty acres of land covered with
timber and assisted by his son Chauncey he
cleared and improved that property. The son
was married here to Miss Lydia Brockum, a
native of the Empire state, whose father came
from New York to Michigan. Mr. and Mrs.
Dexter became the parents of three children,
all of whom reached mature years. The mother,
however, died when her son, A. B. Dexter, was
only three years of age. The father, however,
long survived, passing away on the 21st of
January, 1886.
A. B. Dexter spent his youth in his father's
home and assisted in carrying on the farm until
the father's death. He succeeded to the owner-
ship of the old homestead and purchased his
brother's share in the estate. His education
was acquired in the common schools and he
early became familiar with the best methods of
tilling the soil and caring for the crops so that
24
when he began farming on his own account
practical experience enabled him to carefully
conduct his business interests. On the 15th of
November, 1886, he was united in marriage to
Miss Ellen Post, a native of Michigan and a
daughter of Hiram L. Post, who was born in
Canada, and became one of the early settlers
of this state. Mr. and Mrs. Dexter have three
children, Blanche, Jennie and Roswell B.
Mr. Dexter has built a good barn on his place
and has greatly improved the old home property
until it is now a productive farm, attractive in
appearance and yielding him a good financial
return for the care and labor he bestows upon
it. He and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church of Greenbush and
he is a stanch republican, having supported the
party since age gave him the right of franchise.
He has held the office of township treasurer for
one term and has been school director for nine
years. He belongs to the Maccabees lodge of St.
Johns and to the Royal Neighbors and is highly
esteemed in fraternal circles and by the com-
munity at large for his history is familiar to
his fellow townsmen who recognize in him a
man of genuine worth, deserving of the re-
gard and esteem of all with whom he has been
associated.
AARON W. ROBY.
Aaron W. Roby, living on section 33, Bath
township, is one of the prosperous farmers and
stock-raisers of his section of Clinton county.
He has a tract of land of one hundred and
twenty acres, which is productive and wen im-
proved and constitutes a desirable farm within
eight miles of the city of Lansing. He is a na-
tive son of this county, having been born Febru-
ary 22, 1858, on the farm where he now re-
sides. His father, Stephen B. Roby, was a
native of Oneida county, New York, and was
reared there. On the 25th of February, 1850,
he wedded Miss Edith Dennis, a native of
Wayne county, New York, and about 1853 he
removed to the west, coming to Bath township,
Clinton county. Here he began life in the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
midst of the green woods and cleared off the
timber from his tract of land, transforming it
into a productive farm, eventually owning two
hundred acres of rich and arable land. Upon
this place he reared his family and spent his
last days, being closely identified with agri-
cultural pursuits throughout his active business
career. He passed away October 21, 1901, at
the age of seventy-eight years, having for more
than two years survived his wife, who died on
the 4th of March, 1899, when nearly seventy-
four years of age. In their family were seven
children, three sons and four daughters, of
whom the four youngest died in infancy. The
others are still living. Dennis, born April 15,
1855, owns and operates the old homestead
farm and is represented elsewhere in this work.
The sister, Jane, born November 4, 1851, in
Wayne county, New York, is now the wife of
Newman Annis, of Hazlett, Michigan.
Aaron W. Roby was reared to manhood on
the old homestead and pursued his education in
the district schools of the neighborhood. He
remained with his father until the latter' s death
and then took charge of the farm and business.
Later he succeeded to a part of the old home
property and afterward bought forty acres of
land adjoining. Upon the farm he has erected
a good residence in modern style of architecture
and has made additions to the old barn and
otherwise improved the property. He has also
planted fruit, while the fields yield rich har-
vests of grain. He likewise raises graded stock,
including horses, cattle, sheep and hogs, and is
regarded as a most successful farmer and stock-
raiser, his methods and work being practical so
that they prove resultant factors in the acquire-
ment of a desirable property.
Mr. Roby was married in Ingham county, in
the town of Meridian, on the 28th of January,
1885, to Miss Ella Foster, whose girlhood days
were passed in that county, where her birth oc-
curred October 3, 1863. Her father was
Charles Foster, an early settler of Ingham
county, who came from England to the United
States. There were two daughters by this mar-
riage, Edith, who was born November 30,
1886, and is now in her fourth year at the Agri-
cultural College in Lansing. The younger
daughter, Merle, was born November 24, 1890,
and died July 22, 189 1.
Mr. and Mrs. Roby and their daughter are
all connected with the Masonic fraternity, Mr.
Roby holding membership in Okemos lodge, F.
& A. M.; Lansing chapter, No. 9, R. A. M.;
council No. 29, R. & S. M. ; the commandery
No. 25, K. T. ; and Saladin Temple of the
Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids, Michigan;
while his wife and daughter are connected with
the Order of the Eastern Star, Mrs. Roby hav-
ing served in various offices therein, while at
this writings she is filling the office of con-
ductress. Mr. Roby politically has never
wavered in his allegiance to the democracy.
During a lifelong residence in Clinton county
he has become widely and favorably known and
he also has many acquaintances and warm
friends in Lansing and St. Johns and in other
places of Clinton and Ingham counties. He
possesses excellent business qualifications and
his integrity also stands as an unquestioned fact
in his career. His home is indeed noted for its
generous and warm-hearted hospitality, where
good cheer reigns supreme, and he and his
estimable wife are most worthy people of the
community.
SILAS W. ROSE.
Silas W. Rose, living on section 23, Bath
township, is a substantial farmer whose life
history is indicated in his well improved place
of one hundred acres. Few citizens have longer
resided within the borders of this county than
Mr. Rose, who for sixty-seven years has made
his home here, while since 1836 he has lived
in Michigan. He came to the west from New
York, his birth having occurred in Steuben
county of the Empire state on the 20th of
April, 1833. His father, Silas W. Rose, was
likewise a native of the county and was a son
of Nathan Rose. In the place of his nativity
Silas W. Rose, Sr., was reared and as a com-
panion and helpmate for life's journey he chose
Margaret Myrtle, to whom he was married in
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S. W. ROSE.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
379
Steuben county, where she was also born. They
then began their domestic life upon a farm in
the county where they lived for a number of
years, or until after the birth of seven chil-
dren/ In 1836 they came to Michigan, locating
first in Washtenaw county, and in the spring of
1838 removed to Clinton county, where the
father entered land from the government, be-
coming owner of about three hundred acres.
He took up his abode upon this place, which
was a wild timber tract in the midst of the
forest, the nearest neighbor being three miles
distant. Only here and there would the smoke
from a little cabin be seen, giving evidence that
a clearing had been made and a home established
in the woods. Few roads had been laid out
and there were long distances between the clear-
ings where a small field of grain would give
proof of the enterprise of some hardy pioneer
settler. Mr. Rose at once began to cut away
the timber and clear the land, the family living
in a log cabin. Here he passed away in 1841
but was survived for a number of years by his
widow, who carefully reared her children.
Silas W. Rose, Jr., is one of the three surviv-
ing members of a family of nine. He was
reared to manhood in Clinton county and fol-
lowing his father's death assisted his mother in
carrying on the home farm, to a part of which
he afterward succeeded. He is largely a self-
educated as well as a self-made man, having
continually broadened his knowledge since at-
taining his majority through experience and
observation so that he has now a practical busi-
ness education. He was married in Bath town-
ship, September 11, 1853, to Miss Betsy
Fletcher, whose birth occurred in Ontario
county, New York, her father being Isaac
Fletcher, of the Empire state, who removed to
Michigan about 1838. Her brother, George W.
Fletcher, is one of the prominent farmers of
Bath township, who is represented elsewhere in
this work.
Mr. and Mrs. Rose began their domestic life
upon the farm w^here they still reside. Their
pioneer home has been replaced by a good, sub-
stantial residence and he has also built two
barns, has planted an orchard and ornamental
trees and has developed a nice property. Two
children came to add life and light to the house-
hold : Mrs. Esther Murray, a widow, living in
Bath township, whose daughter, Rose C, is the
wife of Alton Church, a farmer of this town-
ship; and George A., who is married and has
a daughter, Grace, at home. George A. Rose
lives upon the old home farm.
Politically Silas W. Rose is a republican. He
was reared in the faith of the whig party but
about the time he attained his majority the new
republican party sprang into existence and he
has since been one of its stalwart advocates. He
was elected and served for several terms as high-
way commissioner and for three terms has filled
the office of justice of the peace, has likewise
been township treasurer, has been a member of
the school board for many years and has fre-
quently served as a delegate to the county con-
ventions of his party. In the discharge of his
duties he is ever faithful, prompt and reliable,
and his energy has been manifest in his official
service as well as private life. Mrs. Rose be-
longs to the Baptist church and Mr. Rose to
the Odd Fellows lodge at Bath. He has been
a past grand in the order, has been honored with
all of its chairs and has been its representative
to the grand lodge. A resident of the state for
sixty-seven years and of Clinton county for
sixty-five years he is one of the few remaining
settlers of "that early period and his mind bears
the impress of the pioneer development of the
state and forms a connecting link between the
past and the present. He has seen the great
forests felled and the fields cleared and culti-
vated, has seen the log cabins replaced with
fine farm residences and little sheds for stock
by commodious and substantial barns, has wit-
nessed the introduction of the railroad, the tele-
graph and the telephone and also the interurban
lines, until through the work of transformation
the county to-day bears little resemblance to the
district to which he came in his early boyhood
with his father's family to establish a home in
the midst of the forest. In early life he drove
ox-teams in the fields and through the sur-
rounding districts. At all times he has been
a man of strict integrity, true to the principles
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
of honorable manhood and the teachings of the
Odd Fellows society and his worth as a citizen
and business man is acknowledged by all.
DARIUS T. EDDY.
Darius T. Eddy, who is a member of the
firm of Eddy Brothers, who is conducting a
general store at Eagle and also dealing in wood
and coal, was born in Portland, Michigan, on
the 24th of April, 1858. His paternal grand-
father, Stephen Eddy, came to Eagle township,
Clinton county, from Genesee county, New
York, in the year 1837, and entered a number
of tracts of land from the government, includ-
ing the farms now owned by W. F. Kerr, S. F.
Avery, W. L. Tallman, John Pennington and
Harriet Avery. Stephen Eddy was one of the
most progressive men of an early day. He was
known as a great fisherman and as a pioneer
settler he contributed in substantial measure to
the early upbuilding and progress of his part
of the state. He was the first white man buried
in the township, his remains being interred on
his own farm, where the grave is yet to be seen.
His son, Jeremiah Eddy, coming from the Em-
pire state to Michigan, settled in Eagle town-
ship and established what was known as the
Grand River Hotel on Looking Glass river. He
thus formed a wide acquaintance through enter-
taining the traveling public for many years but
about a year prior to his death he removed to
Portland, Michigan, where he died in 1861, at
the age of sixty-six years. His wife, Serepta
Jones, has also passed away.
Their son, Harvey Eddy, father of our sub-
ject, was born in New York, and came to Eagle
township in 1837. He cut the first ten acres
of timber in the township and for many years
was closely associated with the pioneer develop-
ment of this part of the state, but eventually he
removed to Portland. He died in 1887, at the
£ge of seventy-four years, while his wife passed
away in 1872, at the age of forty-nine years.
She bore the maiden name of Marian Way, and
was a native of Canada. In their family were
six children: Lorenzo, who resides at Mat-
tawan, Michigan; Newton J., of Portland,
Michigan; Ida M., the wife of Fred Wilson, of
Otsego, this state; Darius T. ; Thomas H., who
is living in Eagle; and George W., who makes
his home in Otsego, Michigan.
Darius T. Eddy acquired his education in
the district schools and in the public schools of
Portland, Michigan. His mother died when
he was fourteen years of age and he soon after-
ward began earning his own living as an em-
ploye in the woolen mills at Portland, Michigan,
where he remained for a year. He afterward
located on the home farm and attended school
during the winter seasons until twenty-two
years of age. He then became telegraph oper-
ator and station agent at Eagle, and afterward
at McBride, Michigan, for the Pere Marquette
Railroad Company, acting in that capacity for
a period of twelve years. In 1892 he embarked
in his present business in Eagle as a partner of
his brother, Thomas H. Eddy, who for eight
years previous had been connected with mer-
cantile pursuits here. The firm of Eddy Broth-
ers was then established and they have since
capably and successfully conducted a general
store and have dealt in wood and coal. Their
patronage is extensive and is constantly increas-
ing.
On the nth of June, 1883, Mr. Eddy was
united in marriage to Miss Elsie B. Skidmore,
of Grand Ledge, Michigan, who died in 1897,
at the age of thirty-seven years, leaving one
child, Hilah V., who is a teacher in the public
schools. For his second wife Mr. Eddy mar-
ried Ida M. Sadler, who died leaving two sons,
Homer D. T. and Chester A. In 1904 Mr.
Eddy married Miss Alma McCrumb, of Eagle
township.
Mr. Eddy has belonged to the Masonic fra-
ternity since 1892 and is also connected with
the Gleaners and the Loyal Americans. In
politics he is a democrat and has filled several
village offices although he has never aspired to
political preferment. He started out in life
without capital but gradually has worked his
way upward, brooking no obstacle that could
be overcome by persistent purpose and energy.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
381
He is now regarded as a substantial citizen and
one of the capable business men of his section
of the county. In manner he is genial, cour-
teous and obliging and whether in business or
social relations he wins the respect and trust of
those with whom he comes in contact.
HOMER WATSON.
Homer Watson, who after many years of
active connection with agricultural interests is
now living retired in St. Johns, is numbered
among the worthy citizens that New York has
furnished to Clinton county. His birth occurred
there in Otsego county, May 11, 1832, and his
parents were John and Harriet (Reed) Wat-
son, the former a native of Vermont and the
latter of New York. The father spent his boy-
hood in the east and after his marriage came,
in 1833, to Michigan, settling in Oakland
county, where he carried on farming until his
death at the age of fifty-two years. He was
town clerk for fourteen years and was active
in support of measures for the general good. In
his early life he followed teaching. His wife
passed away in 1876, at the age of seventy-two.
John Watson had two brothers and three sisters,
who came to Oakland county, Michigan, where
they resided continuously from 1832 until they
were called to their final rest. Unto John and
Harriet Watson were born six children, those
living being Homer and Oscar, the latter a resi-
dent of Kalkaska county, Michigan. Those de-
ceased are Alvin, who spent his active life in
Oakland county and died in Bay City, Michi-
gan; Albert, whose death occurred in Clinton
county; Lucy, who also died in Clinton county;
and Jesse C, who passed away in Grand Rapids.
Homer Watson obtained a country-school
education and spent his youth upon his father's
farm in Oakland county until he reached the
age of twenty-five years, when he removed to
Olive township, Clinton county, where he re-
sided until 1858. In that year he bought one
hundred and sixty acres of land on section 24
and although it was covered with a dense
growth of timber he at once began its cultiva-
tion and continued its improvement until the
early part of 1865. It was on the 28th of
February of that year that he responded to his
country's call for aid, enlisting in Company I,
Twenty-fourth Michigan Infantry. He was
in the service for four months and was mustered
out on the 28th of June, having done duty at
Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois.
Following his return to Clinton county Mr.
Watson was engaged in farming in Olive town-
ship and in 1866 he removed to Bingham town-
ship, having sold his farm property. He then
bought one hundred and sixty acres on sections
34 and 35. It was a tract of wild land, the
timber having been cleared from only a few
acres, but he at once began the further cultiva-
tion and improvement of the place. He bought
additional land from time to time and specu-
lated quite extensively in farm property, buy-
ing and selling as opportunity afforded and re-
alizing on each investment a good financial re-
turn. He seemed almost intuitively to know
when land values would rise and his labors were
crowned with a very pleasing measure of suc-
cess. Having acquired a desirable competence
he removed in 1891 to St. Johns, where he built
a nice home and has since lived retired, enjoy-
ing life amid pleasant surroundings.
On the T2th of January, 1854, Mr. Watson
was married to Miss Lura S. Devereaux, a
daughter of Seymour and Martha (Carr)
Devereaux, of Oakland county, Michigan, in
which county they lived and died. Her father
was a farmer by occupation and passed away
in 1866 when Mrs. Watson was but three years
of age. His wife died in 1897, at the age of
seventy-five years. In their family were eight
children, of whom six are yet living: Mrs.
Watson, Seymour, Theodore, Allen, Orson and
Elizabeth, the last named being the wife of
John Woodhull. Mr. and Mrs. Watson have
five children; Amelia, the deceased wife of
Samuel Mells; Hiram, who is living on the
homestead farm in Bingham township; Ida B.,
the wife of Henry C. Stevens, of Bingham
township; Hattie E., the wife of John F. Meri-
hew, of Olive township; and Frank A., who is
living on the old homestead.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Mr. Watson has been a stanch advocate of
the republican party and its principles from
his boyhood days and has been a member of the
Masonic fraternity since 1872. The rest which
is now vouchsafed to him has been well earned
and has come as the direct result of his persist-
ent labor and thoroughness in his business. He
and his wife celebrated their golden wedding
January 12, 1903, having for a half century
traveled life's journey together. They are a
most esteemed and worthy couple of St. Johns,
where the circle of their friends is almost co-
extensive wTith the circle of their acquaintance.
A. A. KILLAM.
A. A. Killam, who is serving as highway
commissioner and who owns and cultivates a
farm of sixty acres on section 28, Lebanon
township, was born in Calhoun county, Michi-
gan, January 3, i860. His father, Philander
Killam, came to this state with his father and
the family, their home being established in Cal-
houn county among its first settlers. Philander
Killam was married in that county to Miss
Margaret Smith, a native of Michigan. He
afterward removed to Clinton county but is
now a resident of Gratiot county.
A. A. Killam was reared in Gratiot county,
where he received fair common-school advan-
tages and was thus well equipped for life's
practical and responsible duties. Desiring to
make farm work his life activity, when he had
managed to acquire a little capital he invested
this in forty acres of land, constituting the nu-
cleus of his present farm. He further com-
pleted his arrangements for a home by his mar-
riage in Montcalm county in the fall of 1884,
to Miss Carrie M. Beck, who was born and
reared there. They began their domestic life
upon the farm and he resolutely set to work to
improve and cultivate the fields. He has since
added twenty acres to the original tract so that
he now has a good farm of sixty acres, which
he has brought to a high state of cultivation.
Among the buildings on the place are a neat
residence, good granary, barns and various
sheds, all of which stand as monuments to the
enterprise of Mr. Killam, having been erected
by him. He has also divided the place into
fields of convenient size by well kept fences and
has cleared his land of stumps and stones and
altogether has made his fields very productive.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Killam has been born
one son, Lee, who married Marceline Jarvis
and lives upon a farm of thirty-six acres near
his father. In his political adherence Mr. Kil-
lam is a republican and in the spring of 1905
was elected highway commissioner, in which
capacity he has done good service in repairing
the roads, putting in bridges, in grading, ditch-
ing and otherwise improving the public high-
ways. Aside from this office he has held no
position of political preferment as he has
always desired to concentrate his energies upon
his business affairs. Having lived in this sec-
tion of the state throughout his entire life he
has been a witness of its development and sub-
stantial improvement and has delighted in the
progress that has been made for he is a public-
spirited citizen ever loyal to the general good.
J. D. ROBY.
J. D. Roby, whose home is on section 33,
Bath township, not far from the Hazlett post-
office, devotes his time and energies to agri-
cultural pursuits with the result that success
follows close application, earnest purpose and
persistent and honorable effort. His birth oc-
curred April 19, 1855, on the old homestead
farm of his father, S. B. Roby, one of the early
settlers of this part of the state, of whom
further mention is made on another page of this
volume.
No event of special importance occurred to
vary the routine of farm life for J. D. Roby
in his boyhood and youth. He worked in the
fields as his age and strength permitted, follow-
ing the plow when but a young lad. In the
winter seasons he attended the common schools,
while in the summer months he continued his
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
383
work in the fields, his thorough and practical
training enabling him to carefully conduct his
own business affairs when at the time of his
father's death he succeeded to a part of the old
homestead. He has since devoted his attention
untiringly to his agricultural interests and now
owns and operates one hundred and eighteen
acres constituting a good farm on section 32,
Bath township. The fields were later fenced
and well tilled and everything about the place
is kept in good condition, showing the careful
supervision of a painstaking and practical
owner whose efforts are also prosperous.
On the T2th of December, 1878, Mr. Roby
was married to Miss Olive Tyler, who was born
in Bath township, February 25, 1858, and was
reared and educated in the same locality. They
have become the parents of three children : Fred
C, born May 28, 1880, who assists his father
in carrying on the home farm; Maud E., born
April 15, 1882, who is a graduate of the
County Normal School and is a teacher in the
schools of this locality; and Anson J., born
October 24, 1885, who also aids in the oper-
ation of the home farm. The family home is a
neat residence, standing now in the midst of
well tilled fields, which Mr. Roby aided in
clearing and cultivating. In fact the excellent
appearance of his farm is an indication of his
life of well directed energy.
Politically Mr. Roby is a prohibitionist and
prior to his affiliation with that party he gave
his support to the democracy. He has, how-
ever, never sought or desired office, preferring
to concentrate his energies upon his business
interests and his home and fraternal relations.
Both he and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church and he is a Mason,
belonging to Okemos lodge, F. & A. M., and
Lansing chapter, R. A. M. His son Fred like-
wise belongs to the Okemos lodge, while the
daughter is a member of the Eastern Star, and
Mr. Roby and sons are members of the Knights
of the Maccabees. His entire life has been
spent upon the farm which is yet his place of
residence and which is therefore endeared to
him through the associations of his boyhood
days. He has witnessed much of the growth
and development of this part of the state and at
the same time has been an industrious and
frugal man who has done his full share in the
work of reclaiming the land for the uses of
civilization and making the place a productive
property. He is a stanch believer in the tem-
perance movement and for a number of years
has been identified with the prohibition party.
He is esteemed for his genuine worth and
fidelity to his principles, and he and his family
stand high socially in the community.
CHARLES E. FORWARD.
Charles E. Forward, following the occupa-
tion of farming on section 4, Watertown town-
ship, is a native of Onondaga county, New
York, born October 22, 1862. His paternal
grandfather, George Forward, was a native of
England, who, coming to America at an early
age followed farming throughout his business
career in the states of New York, Illinois and
Michigan. In his family were nine children,
all of whom are yet living, George and William,
Mrs. M. A. Baird, who are residents of Illinois;
Franklin, of Watertown, Michigan; Edwin, of
Kansas ; Charles E. ; Louis and Mrs. J. Bunker,
who are also living in Kansas; and Adelbert,
of Eaton Rapids, Michigan. His son, Frank-
lin Forward, was born in the Empire state and
when thirty years of age took up his abode in
Van Buren county, Michigan. By trade he is
a carpenter and in more recent years has fol-
lowed agricultural pursuits in connection with
building operations. He has built as many as
sixty-five good barns and other buildings in
Clinton county, where he now resides, many
structures thus giving evidence of his handi-
work and skill. He has built two fine homes at
different times for his own occupancy and is
now engaged in building a handsome residence
for his son Charles. He married Miss Harriet
Stalker, also a native of the Empire state, and
a daughter of Henry Stalker, of New York,
who spent his last years in Michigan. Unto
him and his wife have been born a son and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
daughter, Charles E. and Clara, the latter the
wife of William Foreman, of Riley township.
Charles E. Forward is indebted to the dis-
trict schools for the educational privileges he
enjoyed in youth. He began farming on the
old homestead and has since devoted his ener-
gies to agricultural pursuits. He took up his
abode on his present farm on section 4, Water-
town township, in 1901, purchasing eigthy-five
acres of land. Hefe he has since erected good
buildings and at the present time a fine resi-
dence is being built for him by his father.
Everything about his place is modern in its
equipments and in his work he is thoroughlv
progressive and enterprising, basing his de-
pendence for success upon unremitting dili-
gence and energy.
On the 9th of April, 1884, Mr. Forward was
united in marriage to Miss Alice E. Goodsell,
of Watertown township, a daughter of James
and Delia Goodsell. They now have two chil-
dren, Bernice and Charles Maurice. In his
political affiliations Mr. Forward is a democrat
and for one term has served as township clerk
but otherwise has neither sought nor held
office. Fraternally he is connected with the
Maccabees. Throughout the period of his resi-
dence in Michigan he has carefully directed his
business affairs with thorough regard to the
rights of others in every business transaction
and at the same time winning creditable suc-
cess through his unfaltering diligence.
HIRAM F. JONES.
Hiram F. Jones, an energetic, practical and
progressive agriculturist living on section 29,
Eagle township, is a native of Attica, New
York, born on the 24th of March, 1833. His
father, George W. Jones, was a native of Mas-
sachusetts, and a son of Sargent Jones, who
came to Michigan the year after the arrival
of George W. Jones in Clinton county. He
located in Eagle township, where he devoted
his energies to agricultural pursuits. While in
the east, however, he had been a sailor. He was
a native of Salem, Massachusetts, and his last
days were spent in this county, where he died
two years after his arrival in the middle west.
George W. Jones came to Michigan in the
spring of 1839, settling on section 31, Eagle
township. The same year he made a claim of
one hundred and sixty acres in the midst of the
green woods, building thereon a shanty and
covered it with basswood troughs. There he
remained for many years but eventually sold
that farm in 1876. In the meantime, however,
he had added to it a tract of eighty acres and
had cleared altogether one hundred and thirty
acres of the farm, placing it under a high state
of cultivation. On selling the property he took
up his abode at Grand Ledge, where he died on
the 1 2th of March, 1877, in the seventieth year
of his age. His wife survived him for four-
teen years, passing away at the advanced age
of eighty-one years. She was a native of the
state of New York and bore the maiden name
of Hannah Niles. They traveled life's jour-
ney together for many years and she was a
devoted helpmate and companion to her hus-
band. In their family were ten children, those
still living being: Lucy, the wife of Yates
Bailey, of Charlotte, Michigan; Martha, the
wife of John Burch, of Grand Ledge, this
state; Mary, the wife of Cyrus Compton and
a resident of Charlotte, Michigan; Dexter U.,
of the same place; Harriet, the wife of Thomas
Toaz, of Grand Ledge; Nancy, the wife of
James Spencer, of that place; and Hiram F.
Those who have passed away are: Lucina,
who became the wife of Peter Blake and died
at the age of seventy years; George, who died
at the age of sixty years ; and Dexter, who died
in infancy.
Hiram F. Jones had but little opportunity of
acquiring an education, pursuing his studies in
a log schoolhouse after the primitive manner of
the times. However, experience and observa-
tion have brought him practical knowledge. His
training at farm labor was not meager for at
an early age he became an active assistant in
the work of the home farm. In 1853 he pur-
chased his present farm but remained at his
father's home, where he worked until he was
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MRS. MIRIAM A. JONES.
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HIRAM F. JONES.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
389
able to pay for his land. He now owns one
hundred and eighty-seven acres, constituting a
valuable property on section 29, Eagle town-
ship. All this Mr. Jones has cleared, chopping
away the timber from the first twelve acres
fifty-two years ago. He has cleared and im-
proved land to the extent of one hundred and
thirty acres, has erected modern buildings and
in fact has a well equipped property, constitut-
ing one of the model farms of Clinton county.
On the 27th of September, 1857, Mr. Jones
secured a companion and helpmate for life's
journey, being on that date married to Miss
Miriam A. Bailey, a daughter of James Bailey,
of Portland, Ionia county, Michigan. Her
father was a native of Yorkshire, England, and
was married there to Miss Sovina Pitchforth,
also a native of that locality. They came to
Michigan when Mrs. Jones was six years of
age, settling in Eaton county, whence they
afterward went to Battle Creek, spending five
years there, the father devoting his time to
teaching music. He then purchased land in
that locality but subsequently sold out and
bought one hundred and eighteen acres on sec-
tion 32, Eagle township, Clinton county. He
made his home thereon for nine years and at
the same time engaged in teaching. At length
he disposed of that property and bought a farm
of one hundred and eighty-three acres in Port-
land township, Ionia county, whereon he lived
for nine years, when he once more sold out,
spending his remaining days in the village of
Portland, where he died at the age of seventy-
seven years. His wife passed away at the age of
sixty-nine years. They were the parents of nine
children: Ephraim, who is living at Charlotte,
Michigan; Mrs. Jones; Cyrus, who is in the
Black Hills, South Dakota; Joseph N., of Lan-
sing; and James, of San Diego, California.
Those deceased are Asenath; Jesse; Manasseh;
and Mary, the wife of James Webster. Mr.
and Mrs. Jones have become the parents of
three children: Jesse, of Eagle township;
Mamie, of the same township; and Minnie, the
wife of Esmond Frost, of Eagle township.
Politically Mr. Jones is independent, voting
for men and measures rather than for party.
He has been township treasurer for one term
but has preferred that others should hold office,
while he gives his attention to his private busi-
ness interests whereby he has become one of
the substantial citizens of his community.
WILLIAM H. WOODBURY
William H. Woodbury, proprietor of the St.
Johns Steam Laundry, is a native of Grafton,
Ohio, born February 23, 1857. It is definitely
known that the Woodbury family was founded
in America by two brothers who came to the
new world several generations ago. One set-
tled in the Western Reserve of Ohio, while the
other established his home in Vermont and it
was from the latter that William H. Wood-
bury is descended. He is the only child of
Simon and Mary (Wales) Woodbury, the for-
mer a native of Brattleboro, Vermont, and the
latter of Milford, Massachusetts. The father
in early life was a railroad man, continuing in
that service for twenty years and was conductor
on the first freight train running between Graf-
ton and Toledo, Ohio. He was also in the rail-
road service in southern Kentucky for some
time, but subsequently devoted his energies to
farming. He died in 1882, while his wife
passed away in 1878, at the age of forty-five
years. She was a daughter of Amos Wales,
of Milford, Massachusetts.
William H. Woodbury, having acquired his
education in the district schools of Victor town-
ship, spent his early life on the home farm,
which his father had purchased in 1856 and
which William H. Woodbury had assisted in
clearing from the timber and in developing it
into a productive property. In 1879 this farm
was sold and he removed with his father to
Isabella county, Michigan, where he again en-
gaged in general agricultural pursuits and also
conducted a produce store at Mount Pleasant.
Subsequently he returned to Clinton county,
taking up his abode in 1884 in Victor township,
where he rented land for four years. In 1889
he bought a farm in Bingham township, which
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
he continued to cultivate for fifteen years, after
which he spent fourteen months, in 1902-3,
in the rural mail service. In December, 1903,
he purchased the St. Johns Steam Laundry
from Frank Bush and has continued its oper-
ation without interruption. He has installed
new machinery to the value of several hundred
dollars and his business has become doubled in
volume since he took possession. The laundry
is conducted after the manner of first-class enter-
prises of this character and the good work
turned out is a sure guarantee of a continued
patronage.
On the 1 6th of May, 1878, Mr. Woodbury
was united in marriage to Miss Mina Suther-
land, a daughter of Emaline V. Sutherland, of
Maple Rapids. Their children are Mary,
Vesta and LeRoy W. Mr. Woodbury is a
member of the Maccabees tent and the Royal
Arcanum. In his business life he is industrious
and painstaking and since coming to St. Johns
he has prospered in his chosen line of work be-
cause of his close application, his capability and
the excellent service which he gives to the
public.
L. W. CURTIS.
L. W. Curtis, who for a quarter of a century
engaged in farming, dates his residence in
Michigan from 1855 and has lived in Clinton
county since 1870. He was born in Con-
necticut and reared and married in Ohio, the
lady of his choice being Miss Harriet A. Wooll,
a native of England, who spent her girlhood
days in Ohio. Mr. Curtis was a carpenter and
joiner and was identified with building pur-
suits in his early days, also to some extent after
his removal to Michigan. He came with his
family to this state in 1855, settling first in
Clinton county, but soon afterward removed to
Shiawassee county, where he lived for ten or
eleven years. There he cleared a tract of land
and opened up a farm but eventually sold that
property and returned to Clinton county, taking
up his abode where his son now resides. He
purchased an improved place, owning eighty
acres of land on which he erected good build-
ings and carried forward the work of develop-
ment and progress along all lines. He made
a good farm, spending his last days thereon,
his death occurring about 1898. His wife sur-
vived him for two years.
L. W. Curtis, their only son, succeeded to the
ownership of the old home farm and has since
devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits.
He also built the elevator at Elsie and in the
grain trade became associated with G. B. Briggs
as a partner. They have built up a good busi-
ness and in connection with the purchase and
sale of grain also handled coal, tile, brick, lime
and eggs. Their patronage has become ex-
tensive and is drawn not only from Elsie but
also from a large surrounding district.
Mr. Curtis was married in Owosso, in 1877,
to Miss Julia S. Lamson, a native of New
York, who was brought to Michigan in her
girlhood days and was reared in Elsie. Her
father was Rufus Lamson, a resident of this
part of the state, formerly of New York. Mr.
and Mrs. Curtis have become the parents of
a son and daughter, Byron L. and Vera May.
The parents are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which Mr. Curtis has
served as treasurer and trustee, proving a cap-
able and faithful officer and also an interested
worker in various departments of the church
activity. He is likewise a member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity of Elsie and is a trustee and
treasurer of the lodge, while he and his wife are
connected with the Order of the Eastern Star.
His political allegiance has been given to the
republican party since age conferred upon him
the right of franchise and he has been elected
and served on the school board, the cause of
education finding in him a warm friend who
champions every progressive measure for the
advancement of the work of public instruction
here. In the welfare and improvement of the
city Mr. Curtis has taken a deep and helpful
part and his labors have been of substantial
benefit to Elsie. Moreover in his business career
he has made consecutive progress, owing to his
recognition and utilization of opportunity. His
persistency of purpose and energy have been
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
391
strong points in his career and have led him
from a humble financial position to one of
affluence.
JOHN McKIBBIN.
John McKibbin, residing on section 2, Bath
township, is widely known by his numerous
friends as "Uncle John," a term wrhich is one
of respect and admiration for he has endeared
himself to many who have known him during
long years of residence in this part of the state.
In his farm work he has prospered and he now
owns and operates two hundred acres of land.
He dates his residence in Michigan since 185 1
and in Clinton county since 1854. He is, how-
ever, a native of the Emerald isle, having been
born in county Cavan, January 26, 1830. His
father, Samuel McKibbin, was also born in
Ireland and was of Scotch parentage. He wed-
ded Miss Mary Cox, who was likewise of
Scotch descent and both were reared in the
Protestant faith and became members of the
Presbyterian church. About 1832 or 1833
Samuel McKibbin emigrated with his family
to the new world and first located in Steuben
county, New York, making his home in the
township of Howard, where he bought fifty
acres of land. Later, however, he extended the
boundaries of this property by additional pur-
chase and there carried on general agricultural
pursuits for a number of years. In the early
'50s, however, he disposed of his property in
the Empire state and came to Michigan, settling
first in Washtenaw county, his home being in
the town of Superior near Ypsilanti. There he
actively carried on farming pursuits for a num-
ber of years, after which he purchased the farm
that is now occupied by his son John on section
2, Bath township, Clinton county. He com-
menced here with forty acres of land and to
its improvement and development he devoted
his energies until the time of his death, which
occurred in 1859. His wife, long surviving
him, departed this life in July, 1897, at the ad-
vanced age of ninety-four years.
25
John McKibbin of this review is one of a
family of seven sons and three daughters. He
came here with his father and helped to im-
prove and cultivate the farm. Eventually he
bought two hundred acres of land, which he
has cleared and transformed into richly pro-
ductive fields, annually returning golden har-
vests for the care and labor bestowed upon
them. In all of his work he has been practical,
economical and yet enterprising, and his labors
have been guided by a sound judgment and keen
discrimination that has made his work of value
in the development of an excellent property.
His sister Jane resided with him for a number
of years, acting as his housekeeper until her
death, in June, 1905, when she passed away at
the age of sixty-four years. She owned the
home and forty acres of land.
Mr. McKibbin of this review has been a
lifelong republican, casting a ballot for John
C. Fremont in 1856, the first presidential
nominee of the republican party. He has never
failed to vote for its candidates since that time
and is deeply interested in the success of the
party but has never sought or desired office,
though he has served on the school board. A
man of sterling character and worth he has
the confidence and esteem of all and as one of
the few remaining early settlers of Clinton
county well deserves mention in this volume.
FRANK C. SWAIN.
Frank C. Swain, who owns and operates a
farm on section 21, Bingham township, is a na-
tive of Port Henry, Essex county, New York,
born on the 30th of August, 1856, his parents
being Orlando* B. and Harriet E. Swain. The
father's birth occurred at Port Henry, New
York, January 21, 1831, and there he spent his
boyhood days. In 1857 he came to Michigan,
settling in Clinton county, where he opened up
a blacksmith shop on a farm. He conducted
the business for a number of years and used his
savings for the purchase of farm land, on
which he finally took up his abode and began
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
clearing it of the timber which grew there in
considerable density. By hard and unremit-
ting toil he managed to clear away the trees
and brush and prepared the land for cultiva-
tion and as the years passed by he acquired
over three hundred acres of the finest farm
land in the county. However, the hardships
and trials endured in clearing and improving
the farm were too rigorous for his constitution
and his health gave way, so that he had to
leave the active work of the farm to his two
sons, Frank and Fred.
Orlando B. Swain was married in 1855 to
Miss Harriet Conn, a native of New York,
who proved a very helpful and devoted help-
mate to him. She was always cheerful, bravely
meeting the conditions of frontier life during
the early days of their residence in Michigan.
Death, however, separated them February 20,
1889, when Mrs. Swain passed away, leaving
two sons and a daughter to comfort the be-
reaved husband and father. Mr. Swain was
always interested in the improvement and
progress of his county and in as far as possible
co-operated in measures for the general good.
He was the last surviving charter member of
St. Johns lodge, No. 105, F. & A. M., and he
likewise belonged to the chapter and council
and to St. Johns commandery, No. 24, K. T.
Although he was in failing health for a num-
ber of years death did not claim him until mid-
night of July 4, 1904. His death was a great
blow to his family and came as a sudden shock
to his host of friends throughout the county.
The funeral services were in charge of the Ma-
sonic bodies, the Knights Templar conducting
the services.
Frank C. Swain was brought by his parents
to Clinton county when but fourteen months
old and acquired his education in the common
schools and St. Johns high school. He always
remained upon the homestead to assist his
father and did much toward developing the
present beautiful home. As a companion and
helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Ar-
villa Wixson, whom he married November 23,
188 1. She is a daughter of Grover B. and
Ellen (Trowbridge) Wixson, of Olive town-
ship, pioneer people of the county. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Swain have the warm regard of
many friends, having long lived in the county
where their genuine worth of character has
gained them high esteem. Mr. Swain has also
been active in Masonic circles, being a member
of St. Johns lodge, No. 105, F. and A. M. ; St.
Johns chapter, No. 45, R. A. M. ; St. Johns
council, R. and S. M. ; and St. Johns com-
mandery. No. 24, K. T.; while both he and
his wife are members of Radiant chapter, No.
79, O. E. S. She is likewise connected with
the White Shrine and is also an active worker
in the Circle of King's Daughters in St. Johns.
Fred Swain, brother of Frank C. Swain, was
born April 10, 1861, completed his education
in St. Johns high school and has always been
associated with our subject in the work of the
farm whereon he, too, maintains his residence.
He was married February 21, 1884, to Miss
Minnie Squair, a daughter of Francis and De-
lilah Squair, of Ionia, Michigan. Her parents
were natives of Canada, whence they removed
to Ionia, but since 1882 the father has been a
resident of St. Johns. Fred Swain holds mem-
bership in St. Johns lodge, chapter, council and
commandery of the Masonic fraternity, and he
and his wife are likewise members of Radiant
chapter, No. 79, O. E. S., and she, too, is con-
nected with the White Shrine and St. Johns
Circle of King's Daughters, while Mr. Swain
is enrolled as a member of St. Johns lodge, K.
P. The brothers and their wives are both
prominent and influential in the community
where they reside and are highly esteemed for
their genuine worth.
WILLIAM DOWDING.
William Dowding, living on section 15,
Victor township, is one of the public-spirited
citizens of this locality and is now efficiently
serving as highway commissioner. His aid and
co-operation can always be counted upon to
further movements that have for their object
the welfare and upbuilding of the county and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
293
state. In his private business interests he has
successfully conducted a farm of eighty acres
situated on section 15. His life record began
in Ontario county, New York, on the 10th of
January, 1862. He is a son of John Dowding,
a native of England, who was reared in that
country and was married there. Later he emi-
grated to the new world, settling in Ontario
county, New York, where he lost his first wife.
He was afterward married there to Mrs. Char-
lotte Pope, a native of England and the mother
of Charles W. Pope, who is mentioned else-
where in this volume. William Dowding is
one of two children born of the father's second
marriage, his sister Harriet being the wife of
William Rector, of Geneseo, New York.
In the county of his nativity William Dowd-
ing spent his boyhood and youth and when a
young man came to the west in 1882, settling in
Clinton county, Michigan. He joined his half-
brother who was living in Victor township and
began work here as a farm hand by the month,
being thus employed for two years. He then
married and afterward purchased land upon
which he located. He has since developed a
eood farm, on which he has erected a substan-
tial two story residence, also a good basement
barn and has planted a nice orchard. He
cleared the land of timber and stumps and now
has a productive tract, which annually yields
him rich harvests in reward for the care and
labor he bestows upon the fields.
On the 24th of October, 1884, Mr. Dowd-
ing was married to Miss Jessie Beech, a daugh-
ter of John Beech, who is mentioned elsewhere
in this work. She was born, reared and edu-
cated in Clinton county, and by her marriage
has become the mother of one son, Clifford,
who is yet at home. Politically Mr. Dowding
is a republican, unfaltering in his advocacy of
the party and its principles. By re-election he
has been continued in the office of commissioner
of highways of Victor township for seven years
and has also served as a delegate to numerous
county conventions, while for five weeks he
served on the federal court jury. He belongs
to the Masonic fraternity at Laingsburg and he
and his wife are affiliated with the Eastern Star.
Mr. Dowding feels that he made no mistake in
coming to the west and establishing his home
in Michigan, for here he has found good busi-
ness opportunities as well as the advantages
of the older east and in the careful conduct of
his farm interests has gained a gratifying
measure of success.
W. HODSKIN GALE, M. D.
Dr. W. Hodskin Gale, engaged in the prac-
tice of medicine in St. Johns, has attained a
position of prominence that many an older
physician might well envy. He is a native of
Orwell, Vermont, born August 21, 1870, and
his parents were Rollin C. and Delia (Hodskin)
Gale, the former a native of the Green Moun-
tain state and the latter of New York. The
father was assistant adjutant general in the
army, being in the service at the time of his
death, which occurred in 1879. He is still sur-
vived by his widow and their only child, Dr.
Gale, of St. Johns.
In the public schools at Canton, New York,
Dr. Gale began his education, which was con-
tinued in St. Johns Military School, Manlius,
New York, and in Eastman's Business College
at Poughkeepsie, New York, from which he
was graduated in 1889. The literary and com-
mercial training which he received proved an
excellent foundation upon which he reared the
superstructure of his professional learning and
he entered the College of Medicine at Rich-
mond, Virginia, where he attended lectures in
1894-5-6. He afterward continued his studies
in Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia,
where he was graduated in the class of 1901.
Dr. Gales began practice in St. Johns in
1902 and has since been an active representa-
tive of the medical fraternity here. He belongs
to the Clinton County Medical Society and the
Michigan State Medical Society. Of the for-
mer he has served as secretary and treasurer,
being elected in 1903 and re-elected in 1904
and 1905, so that he is now holding the office.
In his practice he has shown a thorough un-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
394
derstanding of the principles of the science and
a ready adaptation of his knowledge to the
needs of his patients. Greater than in almost
any line of work is the responsibility that rests
upon the physician, for the issues of life and
death are in his hands. Moreover the physi-
cian's power must be his own — not by pur-
chase, by gift or by influence can he gain it.
It must be a matter of education and experience
and the necessary qualifications of the suc-
cessful practitioner are possessed in large de-
gree by Dr. Gale. He is prominent in Ma-
sonry, having attained the thirty-second degree
of the Scottish Rite, and he is also a member of
the Mystic Shrine. Dr. Gale was married, in
June, 1903, to Miss Edith, daughter of J. M.
Dodge, of St. Johns.
JAMES MUNDELL
James Mundell, living on section 24,
Lebanon township, has long been classed with
the prosperous farmers of this locality and in
connection with his son, Calvin J. Mundell,
owns and conducts a farm of two hundred and
thirty acres. He has lived in Clinton county
since 1852 and great have been the changes
that have been wrought in this time. He was
born in Scioto county, Ohio, May 30, 1847,
his parents being Josephus and Elizabeth
(Lewis) Mundell. The father was a native of
Pennsylvania, where he was reared and mar-
ried, and subsequently he removed to Ohio,
settling in Scioto county, where he followed the
wheelwright's trade and also engaged in farm-
ing. The year 1852 witnessed his arrival in
Michigan and he took up his abode in the midst
of the green woods of Clinton county, his home
being in the town of Dallas. There he bought
eighty acres of land on which little improve-
ment has been made, but his efforts soon
wrought a change in the appearance of the place,
transforming it into a productive property, on
which he spent his remaining days, dying there
in the prime of life on the 29th of March,
1854. His wife survived him and reared the
family, numbering six sons and one daughter,
of whom five sons and the daughter reached
adult age, while three sons and the daughter
are yet living.
James Mundell was a lad of only five sum-
mers when brought by his parents to this county
and was reared in Dallas township, assisting in
the work of clearing and developing the home
farm as his age and strength permitted. He
continued with his mother until he had reached
man's estate, after which he purchased the in-
terest of the other heirs in the old home property
and succeeded to its ownership. There he car-
ried on general agricultural pursuits until 1891,
when he sold out and bought the farm on
which he now resides, comprising one hundred
and twenty acres of land on section 24, Leb-
anon township. The improvements upon the
place are as a monument to his thrift and enter-
prise, for he has here erected a good residence
and substantial barns. He has also planted
some fruit and has made a valuable farm as
the result of his untiring effort and persever-
ance. His fields are now richly tilled and he
also raises good grades of stock, having Berk-
shire hogs and Shorthorn cattle, with a good
thoroughbred bull at the head of his herd. He
likewise raises sheep and has enough horses on
his place for the farm work.
In 1873, in Dallas, Mr. Mundell was united
in marriage to Miss Maria Coon, a native of
New York, who was brought to Clinton county
in her early girlhood by her father, Calvin
Coon, who was one of the early settlers of
Lebanon township. Mr. and Mrs. Mundell
have two children. Calvin J., who was reared
on the home farm and was educated in the
schools of Fowler and Maple Rapids, was mar-
ried in Lebanon township, October 4, 1899, to
Miss Emma Smith, a daughter of Joseph Smith,
and they now have two children, Opal E. and
Retha M. Mary E., the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Mundell, is the wife of William Eisler,
of Dallas township, where he follows farming,
and they have one child, Louise.
Mr. Mundell and his son are associated in
their business interests. They have purchased
one hundred and ten acres of land near the old
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MR. AND MRS. JAMES MUNDELL.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
397
home place and farm both tracts together. They
are gentlemen of good business ability and un-
flagging enterprise and are meeting with credit-
able prosperity. Politically they were active ad-
vocates of the democracy, but are now sup-
porters of President Roosevelt. Mr. Mundell
and his wife belong to the old-school Baptist
church. He has spent almost his entire life in
this county, witnessing its transformation as
the conditions of pioneer life have been replaced
by those of a modern civilization. With the
work of development and improvement Mr.
Mundell has been connected, thus aiding in
public progress as well as individual success.
LEVI D. CARTER.
Levi D. Carter, whose home is on section 6,
Bath township, and who has been a represent-
ative of farming interests in Clinton county
since 1875, is a native of Sandusky, Ohio, born
on the 2d of July, 185 1. His father, John
Carter, was a native of England, and was
reared to manhood in the state of his nativity.
When a young man he emigrated to the new
world, locating first in Ohio. He was there
united in marriage to Miss Eliza Duncan, who
was born and reared in Virginia. Mr. Carter
was a tailor by trade and followed that pursuit
throughout his entire business career. He died
in Ohio in 1857, when his son Levi was but
five years of age, and his wife, who survived
him for a long period, reared her family in a
careful and painstaking manner, doing the best
possible for them.
Levi D. Carter, however, spent much of his
youth in the family of J. N. Smith, with whom
he came to Michigan in 1865. After arriving
at years of maturity he started out upon an
independent business career and worked by
the month as a farm hand until his twenty-
seventh year. Ambitious to have a farm of his
own he saved his earnings and invested his
capital in eighty acres of land. It was covered
with timber, being entirely wild and unim-
proved, but with strong purpose and undaunted
energy he began the arduous task of clearing
the tract and preparing it for cultivation. He
cut down trees, cleared away the stumps and
brush, and in course of time plowed and planted
the fields. As year after year has gone by he
has continued the work of improvement until he
now has a well developed farm property
equipped with modern conveniences and yield-
ing him excellent harvests as a return for the
care and labor he has bestowed upon the place.
He has a good residence, also substantial barns
and outbuildings, and has planted a large
orchard with a great variety of fruit, making a
specialty of horticultural pursuits in connection
with general farming.
Mr. Carter was first married in Bath town-
ship, in November, 1880, to Miss Leota Harris,
who was born and reared here and died about
two years after her marriage, leaving one child,
Leota, who is now the wife of Claude Trumble,
a carpenter of Bath.
For his second wife Mr. Carter chose Miss
Jennie Hallett, who was born in Ingham
county, Michigan, and died in 1894. There
were two children by that marriage, William
and Homer J. For his third wife Mr. Carter
chose Mrs. Ella Stout, a widow, who is a na-
tive of the state of New York but she was
reared in Michigan. She first gave her hand in
marriage to Manson Stout, who was a farmer
of Lenawee county, Michigan, and died there,
leaving a daughter, Edith, who is now the wife
of Hervey Scott, of Clinton county.
Politically a life-long republican, Mr. Carter
has never wavered in his allegiance to the men
and measures of the party but is without politi-
cal aspiration for himself. He and his wife
belong to the Methodist Episcopal church and
are advocates of all that tends to public progress
and to development along material, social, in-
tellectual and moral lines. As boy and man
Mr. Carter has been a resident of Michigan for
forty years and has therefore witnessed much of
the growth and development of this county. He
takes an active interest in what has been ac-
complished here in the prosperity of the people
?nd in the substantial improvement of this sec-
tion of the state which has been transformed
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
into a splendid agricultural district although a
comparatively few decades ago it was a wild,
timbered region.
THOMAS H. EDDY.
Thomas H. Eddy, whose strength of charac-
ter, successful accomplishment in business life
and progress in political circles as a leader of
democracy well entitles him to mention in the
history of Clinton county, was born in Port-
land, Ionia county, Michigan, on the 18th of
April, i860. His father, Harvey Eddy, was a
cooper by trade and came with his father's
family to Clinton county in 1837, settling in
Eagle and moving to Dallas in 1863. Tne
country was then new and largely unimproved
and the family met the usual experiences and
exigencies of pioneer life. Further mention of
the parents is made in connection with the his-
tory of Darius T. Eddy on another page of
this work. After four years spent in Dallas
the family returned to Portland, and the
mother died when her son Thomas was in his
thirteenth year. The children then became
separated and Thomas H. Eddy started out in
life on his own account. He came to Eagle and
secured a situation as a farm laborer, receiving
in compensation for his services his board and
clothing and the opportunity of attending the
district school in the winter months. When
fifteen years of age he was paid a wage, re-
ceiving at first six dollars per month for his
services as a farm hand, while later he was
advanced to thirteen dollars per month. He
has known what it is to be denied many of the
privileges and advantages which most young
lads receive but his strength of character and
self-reliance have made him a strong and force-
ful factor in business and public life in his
adopted county in later years.
When a young man of twenty Mr. Eddy was
united in marriage to Miss Nettie A. Mc-
Crumb, the wedding being celebrated on the
25th of August, 1880, on her eighteenth birth-
day. She was a daughter of George W. Mc-
Crumb. The young couple started out in life
with a capital of but forty-five dollars and year
by year they added to this. Mrs. Eddy proved
a faithful companion and helpmate to her hus-
band on the journey of life, assisting him by
her wise counsel and capable management of
the household affairs up to the time of her
death, which occurred April 21, 1901, when she
was thirty-eight years of age. She left two
children, Ivaleeta M. and Eulalah A. On the
3d of June, 1903, Mr. Eddy was again mar-
ried, his second union being with Loretta Bur-
rough, of Eagle.
Since 1884 Mr. Eddy has been engaged in
business in Eagle, establishing a general mer-
cantile enterprise which he conducted for
eight years alone. He then admitted his
brother, Darius T. Eddy, to a partnership and
the firm of Eddy Brothers has since been a val-
ued factor in commercial circles in Eagle. They
carry a large and well selected line of general
merchandise and have secured a liberal patron-
age in their store. They also deal in wood and
coal, in which they have built up a good trade.
Their business methods are such as will bear
the closest investigation and scrutiny and the
firm enjoys an unassailable reputation. Every
step in his career has been thoughtfully and
carefully made by Thomas H. Eddy, who was
familiar to the early residents of this section of
the state as a barefoot boy, working at farm la-
bor, but he has gradually advanced toward the
goal of prosperity until he is now ranked with
the successful business men of this part of the
state.
From the time he attained his majority to
the present he has given his support to the
democracy and his interest in political ques-
tions is that of a public-spirited and loyal citi-
zen who feels it the duty as well as the privilege
of every true American to interest himself in
the great questions of the day and aid in fur-
thering each movement which he believes will
contribute to the country's welfare. In 1885 he
was chosen postmaster of Eagle and served
under the Cleveland administration, being re-
appointed under Mr. Cleveland's second ad-
ministration. He has been elected township
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
399
clerk nine times although the township has a
strong normal republican majority. This fact
indicates his personal popularity and the confi-
dence reposed in him by those who know him
best. He was the candidate of his party for the
state legislature in 1900 and he made a strong
canvass upon a personal platform, which he
clearly outlined so that all who knew his posi-
tion in regard to the questions most affecting
the welfare of the commonwealth. The nom-
ination came to him unsolicited and was a mer-
ited acknowledgment by his party of his fidelity
to its interests and his efforts in its behalf. Fra-
ternally Mr. Eddy is connected with the Ma-
sonic lodge and the Eastern Star; also the
Gleaners; Clinton lodge, No. 65, I. O. O. F. ;
Portland lodge, No. 60, A. O. U. W. ; and
Eagle Grange, No. 343. He is likewise a mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church of Eagle
and his labors have been of benefit in further-
ing the material, intellectual and moral welfare
of his community. Having long been a resi-
dent of the village so that his life in its various
phases is known to his fellow townsmen it is
safe to say there is no more honored or popular
resident of this part of the county than "Tom"
Eddy, by which name he is familiarly known to
his many friends.
JAY PRUDEN.
Jay Pruden, one of the most active and ef-
fective workers in behalf of the development
of the Sunday-school movement in the Baptist
churches in the state of Michigan, was born in
Riley township, Clinton county, and makes his
home in St. Johns, Michigan. His natal day
was October 2, 1867. Tradition says that the
family was established in early colonial days in
Connecticut, whence representatives of the
name went to Vermont, afterward to Pennsyl-
vania and later to New York. The name is
undoubtedly of English origin. Hulse L.
Pruden, father of Jay Pruden, was born in
Seneca county, New York, and was one of a
family of eleven children, of whom two are
still living: Peter W., who is now living in
Bay City, Michigan; and George, of Alma, this
state.
Hulse L. Pruden, having spent his early life
in the east became a resident of Jackson county,
Michigan, when a youth of twelve years of age.
He settled in Olive township in 1845, living
with his parents until a later date. His father
removed to Lyons, Michigan, where he con-
ducted a harness and shoe shop until he retired.
About i860 Hulse L. Pruden began farming
on his own account, purchasing one hundred
and sixty acres of land in Riley township, Clin-
ton county. He improved eighty acres of this
land, the remaining eighty acres being sold
while he was in the army. He enlisted in Janu-
ary, 1863, as a member of the First Regiment
of Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, being
assigned to duty with Company E. He re-
mained in active service during the remainder
of the war and was mustered out in 1865. He
then returned to Clinton county, resuming his
residence in Riley township. In August, 1866,
he was united in marriage to Harriet Howe,
also a native of Seneca county, New York, and
a daughter of Philander Howe, who was like-
wise born in the Empire state, whence he re-
moved to Ohio. After a short time, however,
Mr. Howe went to Indiana, and on coming to
Michigan he settled on White Pigeon Prairie.
Later he took up his abode in Ingham county
and helped to clear the logs from the ground
where the capital now stands. Eventually he
settled on a farm in Olive township, Clinton
county, establishing his home there about 1855,
and making it his place of residence throughout
his remaining days. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Mary Hyde, was also a native
of New York, and her death occurred in 1856,
when she was only thirty-seven years of age.
Mr. Howe, long surviving her, passed away in
1903, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years.
Following his marriage Hulse Pruden took
his wife to his farm in this county and con-
tinued to carry on agricultural pursuits in the
midst of the forest. The land was all covered
with timber when it came into his possession,
but he cleared this and in due course of time
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
cultivated it, reaping good harvests. In 1881
he went to Ithaca, Michigan, where he engaged
in mercantile pursuits until 1884. He then re-
turned to his farm and operated and improved
it in connection with the conduct of a store
until T891. In that }^ear his store was de-
stroyed by fire and he did not resume business,
but in the spring of 1892 purchased a place
on Lansing street in St. Johns. He sold his
land in 1901. His remaining days were passed
in the county seat and he died in 1903, at the
age of seventy years. Lie was a democrat in
politics but never sought or desired office. His
religious connection wTas with the Baptist
church and his faith was a permeating influence
in his life, prompting him to honorable relations
with his fellowmen and to unfaltering integrity
in all business transactions. His wife, who was
born in January, 1844, died July 26, 1896, in
the fifty-third year of her age. In their family
were five sons and two daughters, those still
living being Jay, Janie, Oral and Innes, while
Milton, Smith and Vena are deceased.
Jay Pruden received but limited educational
privileges, attending the district schools for
only two and a half years, but at the age of
twenty he walked nine miles to and from St.
Johns to school, pursuing a high-school course.
Later he attended Kalamazoo College in 1895-6,
and then because of failing health was obliged
to abandon his studies. In 1887 ne became
converted and was baptized as a member of the
Baptist church, in St. Johns, in April, 1890.
The following year, realizing the need of work-
ers in the Sunday-school field, he became in-
terested in that department of church work in
his own township. He gave up a position with
the St. Johns Table Company and organized
two Sunday-schools in his township and made
an attempt to establish the third. He walked
six miles to and from the place designated for
the organization of the school for five consecu-
tive Sundays and on those occasions was the
only one present, but his perseverance and zeal
were at length rewarded by a general religious
awakening in that locality. In 1892 he was
called upon to deliver an address at the Sunday-
school convention and his words awakened the
interest of the state superintendent, Rev. E. D.
Rundell, who believed Mr. Pruden well
qualified for Sunday-school missionary work.
In the convention held at Benton Harbor,
Rev. C. C. Bitting, of the American Baptist
Publication Society, instructed Superintendent
Rundell to select a colporter for work in the
lower peninsula of Michigan and Mr. Pruden
was selected and accepted the office, acting for
one year as Mr. Rundell's assistant. In the fall
of 1894 he became the first colporter of the
Detroit Baptist Association. Thinking to enter
the ministry he became a student in the Kalama-
zoo College, in October, 1895, but later believed
himself mistaken in feeling that he was called
to that special branch of religious work, he
again resumed his labors in behalf of the Sun-
day-school movement. One year and six
months later he was invited to go to Utah as
colporter and accepted. On the 1st of June,
1900, he accepted the position of superintendent
of the Baptist Sunday-school work for the state
of Michigan, in which connection he is now
doing effective service, his efforts being far-
reaching. He conducts his work under three
heads, that of corresponding secretary, organi-
zation and institute work, and under his direc-
tion the attendance at Sunday-schools of the
Baptist churches in Michigan has been increased
twelve thousand.
On the 14th of December, 1898, Mr. Pruden
was married to Bertha Mains, a native of Mc-
Keesport, Pennsylvania, and a resident of Salt
Lake City, Utah, at the time of their marriage.
Their children are Stewart Mains, Norman J.,
Irma Bertha and Thomas Howe. The family
reside in St. Jolins and Mr. Pruden is well
known in this county as well as throughout the
state. The work which he has chosen largely
means a life of self-sacrifice but he never falters
in his devotion to the Sunday-school movement,
realizing that the principles instilled into the
minds of the young are the basic elements of up-
right and honorable character. He has brought
to this work keen discrimination, thorough un-
derstanding of conditions, ready sympathy and
strong purpose, and while his influence is im-
measurable, the cause of his intangibility and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
401
the direct result of his efforts are seen in in-
creased interest and attendance in the schools
in which he has labored.
ALFRED D. LANCE.
Alfred D. Lance, who is engaged in farming
on section 16, Riley township, is a native of
Wayne county, Ohio, and a son of William and
Clara (Johnson) Lance, who were likewise na-
tives of Ohio, where they spent their remain-
ing days, the mother dying in 1884 at the age
of forty-four years, the father dying in 1898,
at the age of sixty-six years. In their family
were seven children: Alfred D. ; Edwin H.
and Medwin R., twins; Ernest M., who died in
1888, at the age of twenty-one years; Winfred
L. ; D. Dewitt; and Mabel V., the wife of
Clyde O. Becker, of Ohio.
In the common schools of his native town
Alfred D. Lance pursued his education and re-
mained at home until twenty-one years of age,
when he came to Michigan, locating in Bing-
ham township, Clinton county, where he was
employed at farm labor. He also taught school
a part of the time, for ten years, in Riley, Ben-
gal and Bingham townships. He was em-
ployed in St. Johns Creamery for three years
and in 1874 came to Riley township, renting
his present farm on section 16. After leasing
this land for six years he bought a farm in the
southern part of the township, but after three
years' residence there sold out and returned to
his present home and purchased the farm of one
hundred acres in 1902. It is a productive tract
of land, of rich alluvial soil, responding readily
to the cultivation bestowed upon it, so that Mr.
Lance annually harvests good crops. In 1905
he built a barn thirty-six by fifty- four feet, and
now has a well improved property.
On the 3d of October, 1888, Mr. Lance was
united in marriage to Miss Hannah B. Chap-
man, a daughter of Andrew and Amelia (Wil-
cox) Chapman, of Riley township. They now
have two children : Merle A. and Doris A. In
his political views Mr. Lance is a stalwart dem-
ocrat and has been called to several local offices,
serving as school inspector, highway commis-
sioner, justice of the peace and township treas-
urer, filling the last-named position at the
present time, in 1905. He is a member of De-
witt lodge, No. 272, F. & A. M., having been
made a Mason in 1901, and he also belongs to
Riley Arbor, A. O. O. G., and Riley Grange,
No. 342. Mr. Lance had only five dollars in
his pocket when he arrived in Michigan, aiid
the attractive and valuable farm which he now
owns is the visible evidence of his life of thrift
and enterprise — qualities which have resulted
in the acquirement of a good home and com-
fortable competence.
ANANIAS POUCH.
Ananias Pouch, a contractor and builder
whose operations in the line of his chosen voca-
tion have connected him with the material im-
provement of St. Johns, is a native of this city,
born January 20, 1866. The Pouch family
came originally from Germany. The father,
Levi Pouch, was a native of Canton, Ohio, and
was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Mc-
Cloud, who was born in Lancaster, Pennsyl-
vania, and represented an old family of Scotch
lineage. Following their marriage Mr. and
Mrs. Pouch came to Clinton county, Michigan,
settling in Bingham township, where the father
has since engaged in farming. Unto him and
his wife have been born four sons: John, Alvin,
Ananias, and Henry H., all residents of the
county seat.
Ananias Pouch, having mastered the ele-
mentary branches of learning in the district
schools, continued his studies in Lansing high
school and after putting aside his text-books
began learning the mason's trade. He em-
barked in the building business on his own ac-
count in 1887 and six years later, in 1893, he
entered into partnership with C. F. Pulfrey
under the firm style of Pulfrey & Pouch. This
relation has since been maintained and the firm
stands foremost among contractors and build-
Bement Public Library
St. Johns, Michigan
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4-02
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
ers of Clinton county, having erected many of
the leading business blocks and residences of
St. Johns. They have also conducted a brick-
yard since 1900 and are therefore connected
with the productive industries of the locality.
Fidelity to the terms of a contract, prompt exe-
cution and excellent workmanship are strong
and salient characteristics of the firm.
On the 31st of March, 1896, Mr. Pouch was
married to Miss Florence E. Buck, of St. Johns,
a daughter of Charles Buck, and they have two
children, Leo and Florence, who are the light
and life of the household. Mr. Pouch belongs
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
his political affiliation is with the democratic
party. He has served as trustee and president
of the village of St. Johns and in 1904 was its
mayor. His life is an illustration of what
ability, energy and force of character can ac-
complish and the city has been enriched by his
example. It is to such men that the west owes
its prosperity and rapid progress.
MILO R. VAN DEUSEN.
Milo R. Van Deusen is well known as a
general merchant of Elsie and one whose ac-
tivity in public life has been of direct benefit
to his fellow townsmen, for in the various
public offices to which he has been called he
has discharged his duties with a promptness and
fidelity that has contributed in a substantial
measure to the well-being of the county. His
entire life has been passed in Michigan, his birth
having occurred in Shiawassee county, not far
from Elsie, on the 9th of May, 1868. He
comes of Holland ancestry, the Van Deusens
having emigrated to the new world in the early
part of the seventeenth century, settling in Mas-
sachusetts. Andrew Van Deusen, the grand-
father, was born in Massachusetts near Great
Barrington and removing to the west settled
in Ohio about 1825. He took up his abode on
a farm in Hinkley township, Medina county,
but later engaged in the manufacture of lumber.
His son, Roe G. Van Deusen, father of our
subject, was born in Chautauqua county, New
York, in 1820, but was reared to manhood in
Ohio and was first married there to Miss
Susanna Foss. In early life he learned the
trade of a carpenter and joiner and subsequently
engaged in contracting and building on his own
account. He was a man of good education and
in early life became a successful teacher. He
also read law and practiced both in Ohio and
Michigan. The year 1856 witnessed his ar-
rival in this state, at which time he located in
Fairfield township, Shiawassee county. Settling
upon a farm he devoted his attention to general
agricultural pursuits and became a leading and
influential resident of his community, serving
as supervisor and in other positions of honor
and trust. At length he removed from the
farm to Elsie, where he lived retired until his
death, which occurred in 1895, when he was
seventy-five years of age. He lost his first
wife in Michigan and later was married to Miss
Sophia Burleson, a native of New York.
Milo R. Van Deusen was born of the second
marriage and was reared upon the old family
homestead, while in the common schools of the
neighborhood he acquired his primary educa-
tion. Later he attended the schools of Elsie and
on putting aside his text-books he engaged in
clerking in the employ of M. B. Netzorg with
whom he remained for a number of years, re-
ceiving a practical business training during that
time. In 1897 he embarked in business on his
own account, purchasing a store in which he
began with a small stock of goods. To this he
has added, however, from year to year and now
carries a large line of groceries and general
merchandise and has built up an extensive and
profitable trade through his fair dealing and the
excellent line of staple and fancy groceries
and merchandise which he carries.
On the 26th of September, 1890, Mr. Van
Deusen was married to Miss Blanche Snelling,
a native of Michigan, who was born, reared and
educated in Elsie. Her father, Thomas W.
Snelling, was a native of England and was one
of the early settlers and business men of Elsie.
Mr. and Mrs. Van Deusen have become the
parents of three children : Annie, Elizabeth and
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M. R. VAN DEUSEN.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
405
R. G. Van Deusen. In his political affiliation
Mr. Van Deusen is a stanch republican and he
is a believer in temperance and the principles
of prohibition. He takes an active part in local
political work and has been elected and served
in a number of positions of honor and trust.
He has acted as a member of the village council
and president of the village board, has also been
township clerk and is a member of the school
board. In 1904 he was elected supervisor and
again in 1905, so that he is now serving for the
second term as a member of the honorary
county board. He is a member of the com-
mittee on the equalization and also the com-
mittee on poor and he is interested in all that
pertains to the substantial improvement and wel-
fare of this part of the state. He is indeed a pub-
lic-spirited man and his co-operation may always
be counted upon for the furtherance of any
movement for the general good. Both he and
his wife are active workers and faithful mem-
bers in the Methodist Episcopal church at Elsie
and Mr. Van Deusen belongs to the Masonic
lodge, while he and his wrife are identified with
the Eastern Star. He belongs to the Odd Fel-
lows lodge at Elsie and the encampment, and he
and Mrs. Van Deusen are connected with the
Rebekah lodge. He is likewise a member of
the Knights of the Maccabees and is serving as
commander. In the faithful performance of
each day's duty Mr. Van Deusen has put forth
his best efforts, neglecting no obligation that
has devolved upon him and fully meeting each
responsibility that has come through business
relations and public life. His name is an
honored one and he enjoys in a high degree
the respect and good will of those with whom
he has been associated.
M. M. MESSER.
M. M. Messer, living on section 27, Lebanon
township, is a thrifty farmer owning and oper-
ating one hundred and twenty acres of land
that constitutes a well improved and valuable
farm. His residence in the county dates from
1864. H^s birth occurred in Lehigh county,
Pennsylvania, September 20, 1852. His father,
Michael Messer, likewise born in the Keystone
state, there remained until after his marriage to
Miss Lydia Strohl, also a native of Pennsylva-
nia. In 1864 he came to Michigan with his
father, settling in Lebanon township, Clinton
county, where he purchased a tract of land
which up to this time was still in its primitive
condition but he began to clear and develop a
farm, cultivating it during his remaining days,
his death here occurring in 1895. His wife
survived him for several years.
M. M. Messer was a youth of twelve sum-
mers when brought to Michigan and he re-
mained under the parental roof until he had
reached man's estate when he went into the
lumber woods, where he was employed during
three winter seasons. The money thus earned
wras invested in forty acres of land, where he
now resides. No road had been laid to the
place and he made a highway and began cut-
ting away the timber preparatory to cultivating
the fields. He and his brother chopped down
the trees on forty acres of land and fenced
fifteen acres, making it ready for the plow. M.
M. Messer continued the work of clearing his
own place and when his earnings made possi-
ble further investment in property he would
add to his original purchase until now he has
an excellent farm of one hundred and twenty
acres, of which eighty acres is cleared and cul-
tivated. He carries on farming along modern,
progressive lines and is practical and system-
atic in all that he does. A good house, barn,
granary and other outbuildings have been
erected by him and in his care of the fields he
indicates that he is familiar with the value of
rotating crops. Annually he garners rich
harvests and his work is attended by the suc-
cess which always crowns earnest and indefati-
gable labor.
Mr. Messer was married in Maple Rapids,
Michigan, in April, 1877, to Miss May Amanda
Alexander, a native of Ohio, who wras born,
reared and educated in Oberlin. Left an orphan
by the death of her parents in her girlhood days,
she was reared by an uncle, Robert Meade.
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406
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
When a young lady she came to Michigan and
at the age of eighteen years gave her hand in
marriage to Mr. Messer. They began their
domestic life upon the farm where they now
reside and as the years have passed seven chil-
dren have been added to the household : O. A.,
who is married and has a son, Theron, and is
now engaged in farming in Lebanon township ;
Lydia, the wife of Charles Allor, of Maple
Rapids, Michigan; Ruby, the wife of Charles
Roberts, who is living near Maple Rapids, and
by whom she has one child, May; Ila, the wife
of George Hiner and the mother of one daugh-
ter, Bertha; Maggie; and Ira M., a lad of ten
years. They lost a son, Fred M., who died in
infancy. *
Mr. Messer is classed with the citizens who
give political allegiance to the democracy at
the state and presidential elections but locally
he votes independently. He is serving as school
officer but otherwise has held no positions of
political preferment. His wife and daughter
Maggie are members of the United Brethren
church. In a review of his past history and the
recognition of the fact that he has lived in this
county for more than forty-one years, shows
that he came to Michigan when the great for-
ests covered large stretches of country so that
arduous labor awaited the frontier settlers in
opening up and developing the region for agri-
cultural purposes. In this work Mr. Messer
has taken an active and helpful part and is re-
garded as an enterprising agriculturist as well
as a man of good business ability.
GURDIN E. PRAY.
Gurdin E. Pray devotes his time and energies
to general farming on sections 6 and 7, Du-
plain township, where he owns and operates one
hundred acres of land. He is a native son of
Michigan, his birth having occurred in Ovid
township, Clinton county, on the 28th of
March, 1848, so that he is a representative of
one of the early families of this part of the
state. His father, Ormen O. Pray, was a na-
tive of New York, whence he removed to Ohio.
There he engaged in coopering for a short time
but subsequently came to Michigan, arriving in
this state in 1845. He entered land from the
government in Ovid township and cleared and
opened up a farm of eighty acres, the boundaries
of which he afterward extended by the addi-
tional purchase of forty acres. He married
Miss Esther Ann Richards, a native of Con-
necticut and a daughter of Obadiah Richards,
who was one of the early settlers of this state.
They became the parents of eight children, all
of whom reached mature years. The mother is
still living and now resides with her daughter
in Duplain township.
To this family Gurdin E. Pray belonged. He
was reared to manhood in Ovid township and
was educated in the district schools, remaining
with his father until his twenty-third year,,
when he bought forty acres of raw timber land,
which he began to clear and cultivate. He has
since purchased sixty acres more and has now
a splendidly improved property in the midst of
which stands a good two story frame residence.
There is also a large and commodious barn and
various sheds for the shelter of grain, stock and
farm implements. He uses the latest improved
farm implements and in fact has a property that
displays all the evidence of a model farm of
the twentieth century. He has much fruit upon
his place, including berries and an orchard, and
in his farmwork he is enterprising, his labor
being the strong resultant factor in his suc-
cess.
On the 1st of January, 1859, Mr. Pray was
married to Mi'ss Cinderella Blank, a native of
Sandusky, Ohio, and a daughter of George
Blank, who was born in Pennsylvania. He
afterward removed to Ohio, but subsequently
came to Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Pray have
two children: Cora E., at home; and Milo G.,
who is a jeweler of Muskegon, Michigan.
' Politically Mr. Pray is independent, voting
for the candidate whom he thinks best qualified
for office regardless of party affiliations. He
has served for a number of years on the school
board but has never sought or desired office as
he prefers to give his undivided attention to
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
407
his business affairs, realizing that labor is the
basis of all success and desirous of making a
good home and provide a comfortable living for
his family.
REV. NATHAN L. BRASS.
Rev. Nathan L. Brass, a minister of the Free-
will Baptist church, who for many years was
actively identified with pastoral work and still
fills the pulpit on many occasions, is a native
son of Duplain township, Clinton county, born
August 22, 1843. His father, Samuel Brass,
was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1802,
and was of German descent, his ancestors hav-
ing been among the early residents of New
England. Samuel Brass was reared in the
place of his nativity and there learned the shoe-
maker's trade. He was married in Springfield,
Massachusetts, to a Miss Bliss and subsequently
removed to Michigan, becoming one of the first
settlers of Washtenaw county. He" worked at
the shoemaker's trade in Ann Arbor, and while
living there he lost his first wife. He was then
married to Miss Margaret Doty, who was born
in Albany, New York, in the Catskill mount-
ains. Removing to Clinton county he was one
of the colony that settled on the Maple river.
There he started a boot and shoe shop but first
located on a farm on which he reared his family,
making it his home throughout his remaining
days. His death occurred March 4, 1864, and
his second wife passed away in 1859. There
were two sons of the first marriage : Samuel L.,
who died in Nebraska in 1903; and Newman
W., who died in Duplain colony in '1902. By
the second marriage there were five sons and
two daughters, and with the exception of
Lewis, who died at the age of fourteen
years, and one daughter, all reached mature
years, Rev. Brass of this review being
the eldest. The others are : Mrs. Mary F. Shep-
ard, of Toledo, Ohio; Rev. Frank A. Brass, a
minister of the Baptist church now at Wolf
Lake, Indiana; George A., a traveling man re-
siding at San Francisco, California; and Ed-
ward H., who became a soldier of the Union
26
Army and died of typhoid fever while in the
service of his country.
Elder Brass, of this review, acquired his edu-
cation in the common schools of Duplain, in
the select school at that place and in Nebraska,
where he pursued several courses in theology.
He was licensed and ordained a minister at
Hillsdale College and his first pastoral labor was
at Juniata, Nebraska. He was actively engaged
in evangelistic work and also had charge of
different churches. For twenty-three years he
resided in Nebraska and then returned to Clin-
ton county in 1894, at which time he located in
Elsie. He has not had a regular charge since
that time but has preached at different places.
Since his childhood days he has been an active
worker in the church and his influence has been
of no restricted order but on the contrary his
efforts have been far-reaching and beneficial in
their influence and the seeds of truth which he
has sown have borne rich fruit in the lives of
those who have come under his teachings and
his influence.
Elder Brass was married in Duplain, in
1867, to Miss Rachel R. Smith, a native of
Michigan and a daughter of the Rev. S. J.
Smith, a minister of the United Brethren
church. She was reared and educated in
Brighton and by her marriage has become the
mother of five children, of whom four are liv-
ing for they lost their first born. Those who
still survive are: Bertha O., the wife of Wil-
liam Fela, of Howell, Michigan; Frank A., who
is living at Seneca, Kansas; Frederick, who is
marshal of Elsie; and Helen, who is attending
the home school.
On the 2d of February, 1864, after tne death
of his brother in the army Elder Brass enlisted
for service with the Union troops, joining the
First Michigan Cavalry as a member of Com-
pany D. He then remained with that command
until the expiration of his term of service, when
he was honorably discharged. The company
was on detached duty in pursuit of Mosby's
men and in fighting guerillas and thus partici-
pated in a number of engagements. Rev. Brass
was injured while crossing a ditch but was
never wounded. He has always been loyal in
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408
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
citizenship, desirous of the best good of the
country and of his home locality as well and his
influence has ever been on the side of right,
progress and improvement.
J. A. WARNER, M. D.
Dr. J. A. Warner, who for four years has
been engaged in the practice of medicine in
Bath, a liberal patronage being accorded him,
dates his residence in Michigan since 1873. He
was born in Darke county, Ohio, November 3,
1865. His father, Moses Warner, was also a
native of that state, born in 1844, while the
grandfather, Henry Warner, was likewise born
in Ohio. Moses Warner was reared to man-
hood in Ohio and was there married to Miss
Anna Miller, a native of Virginia and a daugh-
ter of the Rev. Isaac Miller, a minister of the
German Baptist church. For a number of years
Moses Warner followed farming in Darke
county, Ohio, and six of his children were born
there. In 1873 he came with his family to
Michigan, settling in Barry county, where he
located on a farm, giving his time and attention
to agricultural pursuits. In his work he pros-
pered, becoming one of the well-to-do citizens
of the community. There he reared his family
and spent his last days, passing away in 1893.
His wife still survives him and since the death
of her husband she made her home with her
son, Dr. Warner, of Bath.
In Barry county, Michigan, Dr. Warner
spent the days of his boyhood and youth and
after acquiring his elementary education in the
common schools continued his studies in the
higher institutions of learning. He was later
a teacher for a few years and then pursued a
course in pharmacy, during which time he be-
came imbued with a desire to enter upon the
practice of medicine and matriculated in the
medical department of the State University, at
Ann Arbor. Later he was a drug clerk and
pharmacist in a store for ten years, and during
five years of that time studied medicine under
the instruction of Dr. J. A. Baughman, a lead-
ing physician of Barry county. He pursued
his first course of lectures at the Saginaw Val-
ley Medical College, at Saginaw, Michigan,
in 1898, and was graduated there in 1901. He
then located for practice in Bath, Michigan, and
in 1904 he pursued a post-graduate course in
Detroit, thus becoming well equipped for the
responsible duties which devolve upon him. He
is now numbered among the best read physi-
cians of Clinton county and is one of its most
successful practitioners, having built up an ex-
cellent business and gained a reputation as a
most careful and reliable physician. In his
professional services he has also prospered,
meeting with success which should ever be the
crown of earnest, persistent and indefatigable
effort. He is a close student and keeps abreast
of the modern thought and investigation by his
study of medical literature and the reading
of medical journals of the country.
Dr. Warner is a member of the Odd Fellows
lodge at Bath and of the Knights of Pythias
fraternity. He has served through all of the
chairs of the lodge and is past chancellor com-
mander, while he likewise affiliates with the
uniformed rank at Hastings, Michigan. Dur-
ing his residence in Clinton county he has be-
come widely known in this part of the state
andthe liberal patronage which is accorded him
in his profession is the public recognition of his
merit and ability.
COLEMAN C. VAUGHAN.
The journalistic interests of Clinton county
find a worthy representative in Coleman C.
Vaughan, editor and owner of the Republican
at St. Johns. He was born in Machias town-
ship, Cattaraugus county, New York, on the
1st of August, 1857, and is a son of Chauncey
and Mary (Hungerford) Vaughan, the former,
a farmer by occupation. The son pursued a dis-
trict-school education and afterward spent three
terms in Tenbroeck Academy at Franklinville,
New York. He worked on a farm through the
summer months and in the winter seasons pur-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
409
sued his studies. Before reaching the age of
sixteen years, however, he made his way west-
ward to Lapeer, Michigan, and learned the
printer's trade in the Clarion office, serving a
four years' apprenticeship. In 1879 he secured
a position as compositor in the office of the
Detroit Free Press, where he remained for two
years and in 188 1 he went to Sardinia, New
York where, abandoning for a time the jour-
nalistic field, he entered into an agreement to
become traveling salesman for the Sardinia
Woolen Mills. Two years later he again made
his way to Lapeer, Michigan, and purchased
the Clarion on which he had formerly served
his apprenticeship, conducting the paper for
eighteen months, when he sold out. In 1889
he came to St. Johns and purchased the Repub-
lican, which he has since published, giving to
his many patrons a bright, enterprising and in-
teresting journal, which well merits the good
circulation that is demanded by a liberal pat-
ronage.
Mr. Vaughan is known as a political leader
of prominence in his section of the state and
from the 1st of January, 1903, until the 1st of
January, 1905, represented his district in the
state senate on the republican side of the house.
He was president of the village of St. Johns for
two terms and has been a member of the board
of trustees of the Michigan Asylum for Dan-
gerous and Criminal Insane at Ionia. He was
also a member of the board of trustees of the
Michigan Reformatory and at this writing, in
1905, is a member of the state board of health.
His fraternal relations are with the Knights of
Pythias, the Maccabees and the Masons and in
the craft he has attained the degrees of Knight
Templar and member of the Mystic Shrine.
WILLIAM P. LADD.
William P. Ladd, living on section 3, Essex
township, is one of the old settlers of Clinton
county and during more than the Psalmist's al-
lotted span of three score years and ten has
lived in Michigan. He came to the state when
it was yet under territorial government, arriv-
ing here in 1831, and since 1866 has lived
within the borders of Clinton county. His
birth occurred in Warsaw, Wyoming county,
New York, September 5, 1830. Samuel Ladd,
his father, was born and reared in Vermont and
was there married to Miss Elizabeth McNeil, a
native of New Hampshire. In March, .1831,
he came with his family to the west, settling in
Macomb county, where he bought land and be-
gan the development of a farm, hewing out his
fields in the midst of the forest. Upon the
place which he there cultivated and improved he
reared his family and made his home until his
life's labors were ended in death. He had
eight sons and two daughters who reached years
of maturity and of this number five sons are yet
living.
William P. Ladd was reared in Macomb
county and pursued his^ education in the com-
mon schools. He was 'married there in 1858
to Miss Emeline Skinner, a native of Michigan,
born in Oakland county. The young couple
began their domestic life upon a farm in Ma-
comb county, where they lived for eight years
and in 1866 in Clinton county Mr. Ladd pur-
chased the tract of land upon which he now
resides. It was in the midst of the forest and
the road had been cut through only a part of the
way. His first home was a log cabin which he
occupied for several years while rearing his
family and developing his farm. In 1875, how-
ever, he built a good substantial two story resi-
dence, one of the best farm homes on the
Maple Rapids and Eureka road. He has
planted an orchard, has built a granary and in
fact has modern equipments upon his place that
indicate him to be one of the foremost agri-
culturists of the community. The fields are now
cleared and the soil is productive so that he
annually harvests good crops. His work has
been guided by sound judgment, his labors have
been characterized by systematic methods and
as the years have gone by he has won the suc-
cess that is the legitimate outcome of persistent
and carefully directed labor.
In 1905 Mr. Ladd was called upon to mourn
the loss of his wife, who died on the 5th of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
May of that year and was laid to rest in the
Soule cemetery, her death being deeply re-
gretted by many friends as well as her hus-
band and other relatives. In politics a stanch
republican but without aspiration for office Mr.
Ladd has given his time and labor to agricul-
tural pursuits and is justly classed with the
successful farmers and stock-raisers of Essex
township. For a number of years he has been
a member of the local Grange. From his in-
fancy down to the present time his home has
been in Michigan and he has a deep attachment
for this great state. His memory forms a
connecting link between the primitive past and
the progressive present and he has witnessed a
wonderful transformation as the the great for-
ests have been cleared away, the cities and towns
have been built and the land converted into pro-
ductive farms. The value of Michigan as an
agricultural and horticultural state has long
since been proven and in his home locality Mr.
Ladd has been instrumental in promoting the
work of public improvement. He is known
for his genuine worth and fidelity to every
principle which he espouses and his actions
have ever been manly and sincere, winning for
him the friendship and regard of all with whom
business or social relations have brought him in
contact.
WILLIAM H. SNELLING.
William H. Snelling, the cashier of the State
Savings Bank of Fowler, is one of the native
sons of Clinton county, his birth having oc-
curred in Elsie, on the 5th of March, 1870.
His parents were Thomas W. and Anna (Hill)
Snelling, both natives of England, and the
father is now living at Elsie. He came to the
United States in 1869, locating in the village
where he yet makes his home and where lie fol-
lowed blacksmi thing for about twenty years.
His wife died in 1886 of typhoid fever, when
thirty-eight years of age. He served as post-
master of his town under the administration of
President Cleveland and at the same time con-
ducted a hardware business, while at the pres-
ent writing he is express agent for the Pacific
Company. In his family there were three sons
and a daughter, of whom William H. is the
eldest, the others being: Ernest E., a resident
of Elsie; Lawton, who is living in Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania; and Blanch, the wife of M. R.
Van Deusen, of Elsie.
William H. Snelling pursued his education
in the common schools of his native village
and entered business life as a newsboy, selling
the Evening News of Detroit, the paper being
brought by stage from Ovid. Later he secured
a position in the bank conducted by Lee Broth-
ers & Company, where he acted as bookkeeper
for two years, and subsequently was in his
father's hardware store for a year. In 1889
he accepted a position in the First National
Bank at Ovid, serving as bookkeeper and after-
ward as teller until December, 1892, when he
came to Fowler, securing the cashiership of
the State Savings Bank here. This institu-
tion was originally started as a private bank
by D. H. Power & Company in March, 1892,
but the following September it was merged
into the State Savings Bank with a capital
stock of fifteen thousand dollars. The increase
in the volume of business since Mr. Snelling
became cashier has been from twenty-eight
thousand to two hundred thousand. The bank
pays excellent dividends and has a surplus and
undivided profits of one-half the amount of
its capital stock. It has gone far beyond the
expectations of its promoters and is now one
of the safe and reliable institutions of the
county. The officers of the bank are : Fred K.
Schemer, president; Michael Spitzley, vice
president; and W. H. Snelling, cashier.
In May, 1892, Mr. Snelling was married to
Miss Julia Krom, a daughter of William A.
Krom, of Elsie. She died in November, 1894,
and on the ^ist of July, 1903, Mr. Snelling
wedded Miss Hattie M. Sage, a daughter of
the late William H. Sage, of Fowler. In his
political affiliation he is a republican. Mr.
Snelling has served as village clerk and treas-
urer and is interested in all that pertains to the
upbuilding and improvement of his community.
He is a man of fine personal appearance, popu-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
411
lar with a large circle of friends, possesses ex-
cellent business ability and executive force and
is recognized as an able officer.
JOHN C. ODING.
John C. Oding is the owner of eighty acres
oHand 011 section 32, Riley township, and the
farm is improved with good buildings which
stand as monuments to the enterprise and thrift
of the owner. He is one of Clinton county's
native sons, his birth having occurred in St.
Johns on the 26th of January, 1859. He is a
son of Frederick and Mary (Pingle) Oding,
both of whom were natives of the fatherland.
Frederick Oding came to the United States in
1854, locating at St. Johns, where for a time
he was employed at various occupations. About
forty-five years ago he took up his abode on
section 29^ Riley township, where he secured
one hundred acres of land that was entirely
wild and unimproved. It was covered with a
dense growth of forest trees which he had to
clear away before he could plow the fields and
plant his crops, and he also had to cut down
trees in order to make a clearing whereon to
build his cabin. He wedded Mary Pingle, who
came from Germany when she was fourteen
years of age and lived in New York for a time.
After her prospective husband had prepared a
home for her in St. Johns he returned to the
Empire state and later married. They became
the parents of two sons, John C. and William
H., the latter living in Grand Ledge, Michigan.
John C. Oding pursued his early education in
the district schools and also attended a select
school. He taught for one term but when not
occupied with the duties of the schoolroom as
a student his attention was largely given to
work upon the home farm until twenty-two
years of age. He had, however, spent one
winter as a salesman in a store in Wacousta
and in the fall of 1882 he went to Stanton,
Michigan, where he was also employed as a
clerk in a general store and also in various
other occupations. Later he purchased a gro-
cery store which he conducted for a year, after
which he was employed in a planing mill and
sash and blind factory. Later he bought land
which he afterward traded for a stock of gro-
ceries in Stanton but the following year sold
out and gave his attention to various interests
through the succeeding year. He afterward
spent three years as a clerk in the employ of
Pratt & Knight, of Stanton, and for one and a
half years was a salesman in the Morris dry
goods and notion store at Big Rapids. On
leaving that place he came to Riley township
in 1890 and turned his attention to farming on
a tract of eighty acres of land, which he culti-
vated and improved until 1898, when he went
to Wacousta, where he spent a few months in
a store. The following spring he took up his
abode on his present farm on section 32, Riley
township, having here eighty acres of land
which he has developed from a wild condition
and brought to a high state of cultivation. In
1903 he built a modern residence which is at-
tractive in its appointments and equipments. In
1899 he erected a large and substantial barn
and a second one in 1904. The latter was
erected at a cost of nine hundred dollars and
the house is valued at twelve hundred dollars.
On the 31st of December, 1879, Mr. Oding
was married to Miss Delia L. Burnes, a daugh-
ter of Jerome and Mary Burnes, of Riley town-
ship. They became the parents of three sons:
Charles E. and the twins, Claude J. and Clyde
F. Charles died in 1884, at the age of three
vears, and Claude in 1896, at the age of eleven
years. The surviving son, Clyde F., has de-
veloped considerable ability as an artist. ^
Mr. Oding is a member of the Masonic fra-
ternity and also affiliates with the Modern
Woodmen of America and the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a
democrat and at the present writing is serving
as justice of the peace, in which office he ren-
ders decisions that are strictly fair and impar-
tial, being based upon the law and equity of the
case. He has likewise been health officer and
school treasurer. In addition to his farming
interests Mr. Oding has the agency of the
Piano Harvesting Machine Company and also
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
of the Robinson farm implements. He is a
progressive and up-to-date agriculturalist and
worthy citizen who has spent almost his entire
life in Clinton county and has a wide and favor-
able acquaintance among those who have known
him from boyhood — a fact which indicates that
his life has been straightforward and honorable.
STUART HOFFMAN PERRY.
Stuart Hoffman Perry, editor and publisher
of the St. Johns News, was born in Pontiac,
Michigan, October 14, 1874, and is a son of
Aaron and Sally (Hoffman) Perry. In the
paternal line the ancestry is traced back to the
Perrys of Massachusetts and New Jersey. The
grandparents of our subject lived in the latter
state, whence they came to Michigan, settling
in Oakland county, where Aaron Perry was
born. Preparing for the bar he is now suc-
cessfully engaged in the practice of law and
has been honored with a number of positions of
public trust. Pie holds two degrees from the
University of Miichigan. He married Miss
Sally Hoffman, a descendant of the Stuarts,
who emigrated to North Carolina in the eight-
eenth century. Both Mr. and Mrs. Aaron
Perry are now residents of Pontiac.
In the public schools of that city Stuart H.
Perry acquired his early education and was
graduated from the high school in the class of
1889, when fourteen years of age. He received
the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the University
of Michigan in 1894 and the degree of Bachelor
of Laws was conferred upon him in 1896, at
which, time he completed some post-graduate
work in history. At first his tastes seemed
strongly in scientific lines. He displayed special
aptitude in his school work in the sciences and
he was a member of the American Microscop-
ical Society and other scientific bodies. He
carried his researches and investigations along
original lines as well as in paths that others had
trod and he published a number of papers on
microscopy and geology. He was also inter-
ested in literature and journalism even in his
college days and was editor of several student
publications and the author of numerous arti-
cles of a literary and critical character.
On leaving the University of Michigan Mr.
Perry at once entered upon the practice of law
in partnership with his father and continued
actively at the bar until 1900 except for the
period which he spent abroad. His first ap-
pearance in a courtroom of any kind was when
he entered the Michigan supreme court to argue
a case. This was certainly a novel experience,
for the trial of Supreme court cases usually
comes after long experience in lower courts.
In July, 1900, he became actively interested in
journalism and associated with Harry Coleman
of Pontiac, formerly of St. Johns, organized the
Pontiac Publishing Company and soon after-
ward became managing editor of the Daily
Press and the Oakland County Post. In May,
T892, he purchased the St. Johns News and
removed to this city. The paper has an extraor-
dinary circulation for one of its class and is
well known in journalistic circles. Mr. Perry
now gives his entire attention to the paper,
having but limited interests in other business
enterprises.
In political thought and action he has always
been independent, never being permanently
identified with any party. He has contended for
an independent ballot in municipal and state
elections where no issue of national politics is
involved, nor does he believe in stringent party
ties even in national affairs. Fraternally a
Master Mason, he belongs to Pontiac lodge,
F. & A. Mm and he likewise has membership
relations with St. Johns tent of Maccabees and
St. Johns camp of Modern Woodmen. His
religious faith is indicated by his membership
in the Episcopal church.
In 1896 Mr. Perry was married to Miss
Maud E. Caldwell, a daughter of Dr. William
C. Caldwell, of Fremont, Ohio, and they have
one child, Elizabeth, born in October, 1900.
Mrs. Perry is a lady of superior liter-
ary tastes and talents and is the author
of numerous stories and poems published
in the Century, Atlantic and other lead-
ing magazines of the country. Mr. Perry
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
4i3
has found one of his chief sources of pleasure
and recreation, as well as of knowledge, in
travel and visited many parts of the United
States, Mexico, Canada and Europe. In Mex-
ico he ascended Popocatepetl, then believed to
be the highest mountain in North America.
Mr. and Mrs. Perry spent the winter and spring
of 1897 at Gulf coast resorts and the year 1899
traveling in Europe. He has also made many
shorter excursions for the purpose of collecting
fossils with his father, who is also an enthusiast
in geology and has a very fine collection of
specimens and a splendid scientific library. The
variety of Mr. Perry's experiences and his
knowledge of several languages makes him a
ready writer on a wide range of topics. Both
he and his wife possess considerable musical
talent and are prominent socially in this part
of the state.
OLIVER CUNNINGHAM.
Oliver Cunningham, one of the active
farmers of Lebanon township, owns and oper-
ates eighty acres on section 10. He has lived
in Michigan since 1853 and in Clinton county
since February, i860. His birth occurred in
Westchester county, New York, February 25,
1 83 1. His father, Oliver Cunningham, was
born in the same county in 1793, and was mar-
ried there to Miss Ann Moshier, likewise a
native of that county. The father followed
farming there for many years and reared liis
family there. He was twice married.
Oliver Cunningham, the youngest of the
eight children of the first marriage, spent his
boyhood and youth in Westchester county and
after putting aside his text-books he learned
the molder's trade in Peekskill, following that
pursuit for a few years. In early manhood he
came to the west, arriving in Ionia, Michigan,
in 1853. He was there employed in a lumber
yard for a few years and subsequently settled
in Hubbardston, where he engaged in the lum-
ber business. In i860 he took up his abode
on a farm. In the meantime he had been mar-
ried on the 15th of April, 1857, in Clinton
county, to Mrs. Margaret Cronkite, a widow,
who was born and reared in Pennsylvania. Mr.
Cunningham continued farming until Novem-
ber 26, 1 86 1, when he joined Battery E, of the
First Michigan Light Artillery and went to
the south. He was in active service in Ken-
tucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and
Georgia. He acted on detached duty for some
time and for eight months was with the regu-
lars of the United States Artillery. He took
part in a number of skirmishes, in the last battle
of Nashville and was on many hard marches
and raids. He met the usual hardships meted
out to the soldier and for six weeks was ill in
the field hospital at Murfreesboro, Tennessee,
after which he was transferred to the hospital
at Nashville. He served until the close of the
war, having veteranized, at which time he re-
turned to his home on a thirty day's furlough.
He later took part in the battle at Nashville and
at the close of the war was mustered out and
honorably discharged at Jackson, Michigan, in
August, 1865.
Mr. Cunningham then returned to his farm,
where he cleared his land, grubbed out the
stumps and tilled the soil until his place bore
little resemblance to the land which came into
his possession so many years ago. At one time
he was a member of Essex Grange for a num-
ber of years and was identified with other
farmers' clubs. One child was born unto Mr.
and Mrs. Cunningham, William J., who died
at the age of two years, and the wife and
mother passed away June 4, 1892. He has an
adopted daughter, Jennie S., who was reared
and educated by Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham,
and who became the wife of Eugene F. Decker.
He died in 1888 leaving two children, Clara A.
and Clvde W. Decker.
In his political views Mr. Cunningham was
originally a whig and cast his first presidential
ballot for General Winfield Scott in 1852. In
the meantime his political views underwent a
change and he espoused the cause of the new
republican party, supporting John C. Fremont
and each presidential candidate since that time.
He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church
of Hubbardston, of which his wife was also a
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
member, and he joined the Odd Fellows lodge
at Maple Rapids and has filled all of its chairs,
acting as past grand and also as representative
to the grand lodge. He is also connected with
the encampment and has been chief patriarch
and high priest, while for twenty-nine terms he
served as warden. Through his membership
relations in the Grand Army post at Maple
Rapids, which he joined on its organization, he
is yet actively associated with his old army com-
rades and greatly enjoys the camp fires, wherein
are recalled the scenes and incidents that oc-
curred on the battle-field of the south.
W. V. CASE.
W. V. Case, whose farm lies on section 2,
Dewitt township, and comprises one hundred
and fifty-seven acres within three miles of the
village of Dewitt, is known as a practical agri-
culturist, so directing his labors that excellent
results follow. His birth occurred in Clinton
county, July 18, 1863, upon the farm where he
still resides and he represents one of the early
families of this portion of the state. His father,
Marion Case, was also a native of Michigan,
born in Washtenaw county, whence he came to
Clinton county in 1857 with his father, Hiram
Case. Our subject's great-grandfather, Will-
iam Case, who was a native of Massachusetts,
spent his last days in Washtenaw county, this
state, his home being in Saline. As a surveyor
he laid off a large portion of Clinton county
and became the owner of considerable land
here, though he never resided thereon. Marion
Case, however, cleared and developed this
property and became one of the substantial
agriculturists of the community. He was mar-
ried here to Miss Esther Lemm.
On the old family homestead W. V. Case
was reared and he assisted in the arduous task
of preparing the land for the plow and adding
modern equipments and improvements to the
farm. In 1894 he purchased the farm from his
father and has since continued its further devel-
opment and improvement. His progressive
spirit is indicated in the substantial residence
upon the place and the large barn and the well
kept fences. Neat and thrifty in every depart-
ment, the farm is indeed a valuable one of this
part of the state.
As a companion and helpmate for life's
journey Mr. Case chose Miss Mary Treadwell,
the wedding being celebrated in Olive town-
ship. She was born in Cayuga county, New
York, but was reared and educated in this
county, and is a daughter of John Treadwell,
who came here in 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Case
have one child, Ethel. In his fraternal rela-
tions Mr. Case is connected with Dewitt lodge,
F. and A. M., while he and his wife are mem-
bers of the Eastern Star and his political alle-
giance is given to the democracy where na-
tional issues are involved but at local elections
he votes independently, considering only the
capability of the candidate. His friends are
many because he has always lived in this
county and because his life has been in harmony
with the principles that ever command respect
and esteem.
HERBERT J. HOLMES.
Herbert J. Holmes, living on section 17,
Duplain township, has farming interests which
make him a representative citizen, his pos-
sessions covering one hundred acres that con-
stitutes a valuable property, owing to the care
which he takes of it and the modern methods
which he follows in all of his work. A native
of Ohio, he was born in Columbiana county,
on the 3d of May, 1850, his parents being
George and Eliza Holmes. The father was a
native of Birmingham, England, and came to
the United States about 1845. He was mar-
ried in his native city to Miss Eliza G. Packer,
also a native of England and a daughter of
Thomas Packer. George Holmes was a
stationary engineer in his native land, serving
a seven years' apprenticeship to that business
and after his marriage he worked for two years
in England at his trade. He then came to
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MR. AND MRS. GEORGE. HOLMES.
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FOUR GENERATIONS OF THE HOLMES FAMILY.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
419
America, hoping that he might provide a better
living for his family in the new world. Lo-
cating at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, he was there
employed as an engineer for some time and
later went to Ohio, where he worked for several
years running a steamboat on the Ohio river.
In 1854 he came to Michigan arid bought land
in Clinton county, after which he followed farm-
ing as well as working at his trade. Unto him
and his wife were born two sons and two
daughters, of whom three are living.
Herbert J. Holmes remained with his father
and assisted him in operating the farm. He
had common-school advantages and in the
school of experience he learned many valuable
lessons. In 1868 he purchased eighty acres of
land, where he now resides and while carrying
on general agricultural pursuits he also oper-
ated a sawmill for some years and likewise was
connected with railroad work to some extent.
Since buying the farm Mr. Holmes has added
twenty acres to the original tract and has
erected a story and a half frame residence^ He
has also built a barn and different outbuildings,
has planted an orchard, has set out much small
fruit and raises some good stock, keeping on
hand a number of cows for dairy purposes. His
fields, too, are well tilled and return him good
crops, and his labors have made him one of
the substantial citizens of his community.
In 1 87 1 Mr. Holmes was united in marriage
to Miss Mary J. Brown, a native of New York
and a daughter of George W. Brown, who
came to Clinton county in the early '50s. There
was one child by that marriage, Professor Ells-
worth G. Holmes, who was a school teacher at
Manistee, Michigan, and is now principal of
the Bear Lake high school. The wife and
mother died in 1875, and on the 2d of July,
1879, Mr. Holmes was again married, his sec-
ond union being with Miss Lillie A. Watson,
a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Hugh
Watson, who was born in Scotland and became
one of the early settlers of the Buckeye state.
Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have two children, Mar-
garet and Josephine, who are now successful
school teachers in Clinton county. Politically
Mr. Holmes is a stanch republican, always sup-
porting the men and measures of the party,
though he is without political aspiration for
himself. He and his wife and their family are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Duplain and are prominent and representative
people of the community, who occupy an
enviable position in social circles, the hospitality
of the best homes of this part of the county
being freely accorded them.
GERMAN SYPHER.
German Sypher, living on section 36, Olive
township, is classed with the prosperous farm-
ers of his community and moreover he owes
his success largely to his own well directed
labors. He now has one hundred and fifteen
acres of land which is rich and arable on sec-
tion 36 and he dates his residence in the county
from 1869. A native of New York, he was
born in Dutchess county near Poughkeepsie,
April 4, 1825, and is therefore at this writing
more than eighty years of age but is yet a hale
and hearty man of bright mind and steady hand.
His father, William Sypher, was also a native
of Dutchess county, New York, and the grand-
father was Samuel Sypher, who came of Ger-
man ancestry. The family was established at
a very early day in Dutchess county, where
some of the representatives of the name still
reside.
In the place of his nativity German Sypher
was reared and after arriving at years of ma-
turity he was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth
Risley, who was born in Hyde Park, Dutchess
county, New York, January 13, 1832. Her
father, William Risley, was likewise a native
of that locality, while her grandfather, Andrew
Risley, was a pioneer settler there. William
Risley married Amelia Sleight, who was also
born and reared in Dutchess county. Follow-
ing his marriage Mr. Sypher took up his abode
on a farm in the county of his nativity. In
early life he had learned the blacksmith's trade,
which he followed for a number of years but
eventually he turned his attention to agricul-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
tural pursuits and was thus engaged until 1872,
when he left the Empire state and came to
Michigan. In that year he purchased the farm
upon which he now resides and with the aid
of his sons he cut down the trees, cleared the
land and plowed and planted the fields, thus in
course of time opening up a good farm. For
a number of years he lived in a log house but
later built a good, neat and substantial resi-
dence, also built a commodious barn and other
outbuildings, planted ornamental trees and set
out an orchard. In early days the family ex-
perienced many hardships and privations inci-
dent to frontier life but in the course of years
these gave way before the improvements of an
advancing civilization. Ox teams were used in
early years for all the work of the farm but
now the land is well cleared of timber and
stumps and the fields yield abundant crops,
giving a rich harvest for the labor bestowed
thereon.
Mr. and Mrs. Sypher became the parents of
four children: William E., who is assisting to
carry on the home farm; Carrie, the wife of
Joseph Graham, of Lansing; Esther Doty, the
wife of John T. Bird, of Dutchess county, New
York, their home being at Rhinecliff; and Mil-
ton, who is married and is a substantial farmer
of Olive township. They also lost a daughter,
Sarah, who died at the age of five years. One
of the treasured possessions in the Sypher home
is a Bible which is an old heirloom in the family
and contains the family record written in the
German text. The pages are yellow with age,
for the Bible has had an existence of one hun-
dred and seventy years, having been published
in Berlin in the German tongue. It is a large
and well bound volume, the covers fastening
with clasps and well may be prized in the fam-
ily. Mr. Sypher and sons are stanch repub-
licans and never falter in their allegiance to
the principles of the party but they do not care
for office, preferring to give their undivided
attentions to their business interests. They are
also members of the Maccabees tent and Mrs.
Sypher is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Mr. Sypher has led an upright, honor-
able life and now at the advanced age of eighty
years receives the veneration and respect which
should ever be accorded one who has traveled
thus far on life's journey.
FRANK WADSWORTH UPTON.
The subject of this sketch was born in
Charlemont, Franklin county, Massachusetts,
on the 1 6th day of January, 1849, to be exact,
about nine o'clock in the evening, and has dur-
ing his whole career preferred the evening to
the early morning for the activities of life. He
is the eldest son of Josiah Upton, who has been
a resident of St. Johns since 1868 and is else-
where represented in this book. His parents
removed to Victor, Michigan, in 1856, after
which year his time was divided between at-
tending district school and driving oxen until
about fifteen years of age, when he was fitted
out with two suits of homemade clothes and
sent to Olivet to school. Here he remained
through three college years. Most of his time
was devoted to the study of Caesar's account of
the Gallic wars, Cicero's orations, etc., in Latin,
and Zenophon's Anabasis, in Greek. He has
succeeded in forgetting all the Greek and most
of the Latin and has always regretted that his
time had not been given to the study of the
natural sciences. In the fall of 1867 he went
to Syracuse, New York, and took a course in
shorthand, extending through ten months, at
Ames' Business College; taught a district
school in Bingham township during the winter
of 1868; continued his studies for a time under
the tutelage of Rev. Tuthill, of St. Johns ; and
in May, 1870, married Sarah Ellen Scull, of
Victor, and moved upon the farm where he had
been raised, which was still the property of his
father and his uncle, James Upton. Here he
remained during four years, working the farm
summers and manufacturing ox-bows for the
lumber woods each winter.
In August, 1874, he accepted a call to be-
come stenographer in the office of Ashley Pond
and Henry B. Brown, of Detroit, where he re-
mained for about six years, or until the spring
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
421
of 1880. During nearly the whole of this pe-
riod he took the testimony in the office of Hovey
K. Clarke, register in bankruptcy, and at times
reported in all the courts in the city. He was
also during the major part of this time stenog-
rapher to Mr. E. W. Meddaugh, general solic-
itor of the Grand Trunk Railway. Leaving De-
troit in the spring of 1880, he bought a tract
of two thousand six hundred acres of land in
Seward county, Nebraska, and removed thereto.
He was soon after followed by his brother Ar-
thur, with whom he divided the tract equally.
In the purchase and subsequent improvement of
this property they were largely assisted by
funds furnished by their father. About fifteen
miles of wire fence was built and the land
broken up and farmed, producing one season
over four hundred acres of corn. It was a
stock farm and carried cattle, sheep, horses and
hogs. As high as eighty head of steers were
fattened in a winter. Soon after the importa-
tion of heavy draft horses to this country began
Frank Upton bought the Shire stallion Temple
Bruer and this was afterwards followed by the
purchase of others until he became the owner
and manager of six Shire stallions and four
pure bred Shire mares. The heaviest mare
weighed nineteen hundred, the heaviest ' horse
two thousand and five. All these operations
were carried on with varying success until
1893, at which time the heavy indebtedness he
was carrying and a series of crop faiures made
it apparent that the enterprise would have to be
wound up. This he did and returned to the
practice of shorthand reporting, locating in Chi-
cago, after having worked a part of a year in
Grand Rapids. During the six years that he
remained in Chicago he occupied an office with
a master in chancery, Hiram Barber, taking the
testimony for the master and doing general
court reporting, including the work of the
Grand Trunk Railway Company.
Before the end of the six years last men-
tioned Mr. Upton's love for treading on God's
green earth and of rearing the domestic animal's
overcame his love of short-hand and the city
and he again returned to Victor, Michigan, and
to the farm where he was brought up; he, in
company with his brother Albert, who is at
present residing at Sault Ste. Marie, having
bought the farm from their uncle, James Upton.
The breeding of pure Berkshire swine is the
specialty on this farm. Politically Mr. Upton
is a republican ; belongs to the Masonic frater-
nity, to the Royal Arcanum and the Grange.
While living in Chicago he took a course at
and graduated from the Chicago Institute of
Phrenology. While never making phrenology
a profession he is competent to give reliable ex-
aminations and takes pleasure in doing so. Mr.
and Mrs. Upton have but one son, Torrence W.,
who is a machinist, following his trade in Buf-
falo, New York.
JOSIAH UPTON.
Josiah Upton, for three terms county treas-
urer and two terms deputy county treasurer,
and a resident of St. Johns since 1868, is a
native of Heath township, Franklin county,
Massachusetts. He was born April 5, 1824,
his parents being Elias and Tryphena (Hatha-
way) Upton, also natives of the Old Bay state,
where they lived until 1856, when they came
to Clinton county, Michigan, and settled in
Victor township in the month of December.
The father, during his whole career, was a
farmer, but after his removal to Michigan made
his home with his sons James and Josiah upon
the two hundred and thirty-five acres which
constituted their farm. He continued to be a
resident of Victor up to the time of his death
at the age of eighty-five. His wife had de-
parted this life two years previously. They
were the parents of eleven children, of whom
three are living: Josiah Upton being the fifth
in order of birth in the family. Hannah N. is
now the wife of Elisha Edwards, of Victor
township, and Carrie is the wife of Alonzo
Passage, of Victor township. Those deceased
are: Tryphena H., who married Shadrach B.
Upton; Emily, the wife of Samuel Booth;
Sarah, who married Justin W. Beckwith;
James ; Hart L. ; Roswell, who died in Mon-
tana; and Martha, who died in infancy.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Josiah Upton acquired such an education
as was afforded by the district schools of
his native state and remained upon the
home farm until twenty-three years of age.
He then engaged in the manufacture of
scythe-snaths in Massachusetts, at which
occupation he acquired a considerable sum
of money for those days, and in 1856
came to the west, where he with his father,
brothers and cousin, Horace Upton, bought a
large tract of land which was divided among
them and out of which they made farms, most
of the same being forest at the time. Josiah
Upton remained upon the farm twelve years
when, having been elected treasurer of Clinton
county, he removed to St. Johns. He was
twice re-elected by increased majorities. Fol-
lowing the close of his third term he served as
deputy county treasurer under David S. French.
He was also seven times elected to the office of
supervisor of Bingham township, serving for
six consecutive terms. His other public serv-
ice has been that of village school director,
which position he filled for nearly a score of
years. He has been a lifelong republican and
in his religious belief a Unitarian.
In 1874 Mr. Upton engaged in merchandis-
ing as a dealer in dry goods in St. Johns, form-
ing a partnership with Jesse Dunn, under the
firm style of Dunn & Upton. In recent years he
has been engaged in lumbering and managing
estates entrusted to his care. He has had an
eventful career financially, having made and
lost considerable money. He is now, however,
in comfortable financial circumstances. He was
one of the organizers of the First National
Bank of St. Johns and for a time president of
the same, and has been a promoter of other
enterprises of importance in the commercial de-
velopment and progress of the city. At all
times he has been recognized as a man of un-
questioned integrity, standing high in public
regard.
In October, 1845, Mr. Upton was married
to Miss Deborah Carroll, daughter of Abijah
Carroll, of Rowe, Massachusetts. She died the
following year, and in 1847 he was married to
Nancy S. Woodbury, of Brattleboro, Vermont,
who died twenty-three years ago. Their chil-
dren were Frank W., now a farmer of Victor
township; Albert B., who is living at Sault Ste.
Marie; and Arthur E., a resident of Lincoln,
Nebraska. In 1883 he was married to Ellen
D. Severance, of Shelburne Falls, Massachu-
setts, and they are now enjoying their very
comfortable home, which has been materially
improved and modernized during recent years.
Mr. Upton has long been well known in politi-
cal and business circles in St. Johns and is
numbered among the influential and valued citi-
zens of Clinton county.
WILLIAM H. HOLMES.
William H. Holmes, who is serving for the
third term as township treasurer of Eagle town-
ship and makes his home on section 32, where
he is extensively engaged in farming, was born
in Oneida township, Eaton county, Michigan,
on the 19th of September, 1861. His parents,
Anson T. and Sylvia (Henry) Holmes, were
also natives of Michigan, the former a native
of Washtenaw county and the latter of Eaton
county. In 1854 the father removed to Clinton
county with his parents, settling on section 32,
Eagle township, and purchased one hundred
and sixty acres of land where he lived on this
and the adjoining farm until 1891, when he
moved to Grand Ledge. He died at that place
in May, 1901, at the age of sixty-six years, and
is still survived by his wife, who resides in
Grand Ledge. Calvin Holmes, the paternal
grandfather, was a native of New York and
brought his family to Michigan in 1834, where
he lived to the advanced age of ninety-four
years, while his wife, Sylvia Maltby, passed
away at the age of seventy-eight years. In
their family were the following named : Lovisa,
the wife of Henry Swegles, of Eaton county,
Michigan; Wilson, who is living in Ludington,
Michigan; Rosina, deceased; Mrs. Sarah Van
Leuvan, a widow; Luther, of Grand Ledge;
Willis, deceased ; and Elizabeth Robinson.
William H. Holmes, whose name introduces
this review, is indebted to the district schools
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
423
for the educational privileges he enjoyed, and
through the period of vacations he engaged in
farming on the old homestead, thus becoming
familiar with all the duties and labors that fell
to the lot of the agriculturist. In 1885 he
began farming on his own account on forty
acres of land and in 1901 he added to his prop-
erty nearly all of the old homestead farm on
section 32, Eagle township, so that he now has
a valuable property which is productive by rea-
son of the care and labor he has bestowed upon
it. He is a thorough up-to-date farmer, pains-
taking and careful in the management of his
business, practical and progressive in all that
he does and his efforts have been resultant fac-
tors in winning his success.
On the 10th of June, 1885, Mr. Holmes was
married to Miss Lena Stearns, a daughter of
Thompson Stearns, of Eagle. In politics he is
a republican, prominent in the local ranks of
his party. He has served as justice of the peace
for two terms and as a member of the board of
reviews and in 190 1 was elected treasurer of
Eagle township, which office he held two terms
and is now serving for the third term. He is
prompt and faithful in the performance of all
his public duties and the trust reposed in him
is well merited. He belongs to the Grange, has
been identified with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows for ten years and is a member of
the Universalist church of Eagle.
EUGENE LOTT.
Eugene Lett, whose home is on section 3,
Dewitt township, is one of the young and ac-
tive farmers here and his possessions include
one hundred and sixty acres of valuable and
well improved land conveniently located about
three miles from the village of Dewitt. Clinton
county numbers him among her native sons, for
his birth occurred upon this farm, January 8,
1870. His father, William Lott, was a native
of Canada, born November 4, 1830, and a son
of Benjamin Lott, who was likewise born in
that country. The latter, removing with his
family to Michigan, became one of the early
27
settlers of Ingham county, his home being near
Lansing. Subsequently he purchased the land
and located on the farm now owned and occu-
pied by Eugene Lott and here he opened up a
farm in the midst of the wilderness, making it
a good property. He entirely transformed its
appearance, for it was once covered with a
dense growth of forest trees, the foliage being
so thick that the sun's rays could hardly pene-
trate, but in the course of years rich harvests
were gathered there and it was found that the
soil was very productive.
It was upon this farm that William Lott
was reared and he assisted his father in clear-
ing and improving the property. He was mar-
ried in Clinton county to Miss Ervilla Preston,
whose birth occurred in New York, January
12, 1830, and who was a daughter of Freeman
Preston. William Lott succeeded to his father's
old place and built thereon a large and at-
tractive brick residence, while in the rear he
placed good barns and other substantial out-
buildings. He also set out an orchard, planted
small fruit and carried on the farm work in
such a manner as to make this a valuable prop-
erty, while his labors brought him a rich return
in good crops. He died here, March 28, 1896,
and is still survived by his widow, who makes
her home with her son Eugene. There were
but two children in the family, the brother being
Jay Lott, who resides in Toledo, Ohio.
Eugene Lott was reared to manhood on the
old family homestead and acquired his educa-
tion in the district schools, remaining with his
father until his death, during which time he
was trained to habits of industry, economy and
perseverance, which have borne rich fruit in
later years. He succeeded to the ownership of
the old home place and his time has been given
to its further development and improvement.
Everything displays a well cared for condition
and the buildings and fences are kept in good
repair. Mr. Lott is indeed one of the prosper-
ous farmers of his community, practical in his
methods, which prove resultant factors in his
gratifying success.
On the 9th of January, 1888, in Dewitt
township, when eighteen years of age, Eugene
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Lott was united in marriage to Miss Mamie
Henderson, a native of Clinton county. She
was reared and educated here, a daughter of
Ephraim Henderson, of this township. One
child graces this marriage, Merle L. They lost
their first born, Rex, who died at the age of
six months. Politically Mr. Lott is a democrat
but without aspiration for public office. His
fraternal relations, however, connect him with
the Modern Woodmen and the Grange, and he
is well and favorably known in the county
where his entire life has been passed.
MARTIN WELLER, M. D.
Dr. Martin Weller, who has figured promi-
nently for a number of years in connection with
the practice of medicine and surgery in St.
Johns and whose close adherence to a high
standard of professional ethics has gained him
the good will and unqualified regard of his
brethren of the fraternity, was born upon a
farm in Bengal township, Clinton county, about
six miles from the county seat. His natal day
was April 21, 1854, and his parents were An-
drew and Charlotte (Nichols) Weller, both na-
tives of Livingston county, New York. The
Weller family is of German lineage and was es-
tablished in America by the great-great-grand-
father of Dr. Weller. Early representatives
of the name in this country lived in New Jersey
and from that state the grandfather removed to
New York, where he spent the remainder of
his life. In his family were twelve children, all
of whom have passed away with the exception
of Caroline, the wife of A. D. Webster, of St.
Johns. One son, Calvin Weller, died in the
Civil war. It was to this family that Andrew
Weller belonged, being the second in order of
birth. He married Charlotte Nichols, a repre-
sentative of an old Vermont family that after-
ward removed to New York. Mr. and Mrs.
Andrew Weller came to Clinton county in 1848,
settling on a farm in the midst of the forest.
There Was only a path marked by blazed trees
whereby he could find his way to his claim.
The father removed to this county after a resi-
dence of about a year in the southern part of
the state and he at once began to clear and de-
velop his one-hundred-acre-tract of land, trans-
forming it into productive fields from which as
the years went by he gathered good harvests
that found a ready sale on the market and made
him a substantial agriculturist of his com-
munity. In an early day he served as treasurer
in his township and at the first election of the
township in which he voted there were only
nineteen votes cast. The men who thus exer-
cised their right of suffrage spent the remain-
der of the day in shooting at a mark. Mr.
Weller gave his political allegiance to the
democracy and from early boyhood until old
age he was a consistent member of the Metho-
dist church. He died on the old homestead
July 5, 1902, at the age of eighty-one years
and his wife passed away on the 20th of Janu-
ary previous, at the age of eighty years.
Dr. Weller was the third in order of birth
in his father's family numbering four sons.
Franklin, the eldest, was injured in a foundry
and died at St. Johns in 1901, at the age of
fifty-two years. George died at the age of
two years. Willard M. is a practicing physi-
cian at Ithaca, Michigan.
Dr. Weller pursued his early education in
the common schools of Clinton county and by
private study fitted himself for teaching, which
profession he followed for three years in the
district schools. He attended the Michigan
University at Ann Arbor in order to prepare
for his chosen profession, matriculating in the
medical department in 1878 and completing the
regular course there in 1881. He began prac-
tice at Fowler in the spring of 1882, spending
four and a half years there and in December,
1886, he came to St. Johns, where he has since
maintained his office at the place where he first
located on entering upon his professional ca-
reer here. During recent years he has given
considerable attention to surgery and his accu-
rate knowledge of anatomy and the component
parts of the human body combined with a
nicety of touch and a precision in the handling
of the delicate surgical instruments make him
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
425
especially skillful in this branch of professional
work. He likewise enjoys a large general
practice, his career in the profession being
crowned with a gratifying measure of success.
For two years he served as president of the
Clinton County Medical Society, was its secre-
tary for several years and is a member of the
Michigan State Medical Society and American
Medical Association.
Dr. Weller was married in 1881 to Miss
Emma L. Pulfrey, a daughter of A. Pulfrey, of
the state of New York, and they have one son,
Carl Vernon, who was graduated from the high
school at St. Johns in 1904 and is now teaching
in that institution. Dr. Weller belongs to the
Knights of Pythias fraternity and is a promi-
nent member of the Methodist Episcopal church
with which he has been identified since his boy-
hood days. He is a man of strong personality,
wielding a wide influence in public affairs as a
private citizen yet never seeking the reputation
that comes through office holding, as he has
always preferred to concentrate his energies
upon his professional duties, fully realizing the
responsibility and obligations that devolve upon
him in this connection..
CLAYTON A. SHERMAN.
Clayton A. Sherman, a prominent business
man of Elsie, actively connected with the lum-
ber trade, has lived here since October, 1901,
and is a valued addition to business circles. He
is a native son of Michigan, his birih having
occurred in Shiawassee county, on the 1st of
March, i860. His father, Albert Sherman,
was a native of Ohio and was there reared,
coming to Michigan when a young man. He
was married in Shiawassee county about 1858
to Miss Nancy J. Frain, whose birth occurred
in that county, and who was a daughter of Solo-
mon Frain, one of the first settlers of the state.
Albert Sherman following his marriage took
up his abode on a farm in Shiawassee county,
the land belonging to his father-in-law. This
he cultivated for a few years, when about 1863
he bought land in Duplain township, Clinton
county, and opened up a farm. Later he owned
three farms and became one of the prosperous
and well-to-do agriculturists of this part of the
state, his landed possessions aggregating four
hundred and eighty acres. He reared his fam-
ily on the old homestead and in his business
affairs he prospered. In 1901 he removed to
Elsie, where his death occurred on the 6th of
March, 1904. He was three times married and
by the first union there was one son, while
three children were born of the second mar-
riage, of whom two are living.
Clayton A. Sherman, whose name introduces
this review, was reared upon the old homestead
farm and acquired a district-school education
which he supplemented by study in the high
school at Elsie. He remained with his father
until twenty-two years of age and then started
out in life on his own account. He owned a
tract of land in Duplain towrnship, at first hav-
ing but forty acres but to this he afterward
added as his financial resources made possible
additional purchases.
In 1884 Mr. Sherman was married in Green-
bush township to Miss Cora A. Leach, a na-
tive of Ohio, who, however, was reared in
Michigan, her father, Willis Leach, coming
from the Buckeye state to Michigan at an early
day. He owned and operated a sawmill, being
successfully engaged in the manufacture of
lumber. After his marriage Mr. Sherman
bought another farm of eighty acres, carrying
on both places. He built a barn on each, also
a granary, fenced the land, set out orchards
and continued actively in farm work until the
fall of 1901, when he rented his land and pur-
chased the lumber yard in Elsie. Taking
charge of the business, he has since successfully
conducted it and has a well equipped yard, car-
rying a full line of lumber and building mate-
rials. He has built up a good trade and is one
of the enterprising, progressive business men
of the county.
Mr. and Mrs. Sherman have one daughter,
Ivy, who is now attending school. In politics
he is an earnest republican, having voted for
that party since age gave to him the right of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
franchise. He has been elected and is now-
serving as a member of the town board and
the cause of education finds in him a very-
strong and helpful friend. He belongs to the
Masonic lodge at Elsie and he and his wife are
identified with the Order of the Eastern Star.
He prospered in his farming interests and has
built up a good business in the lumber trade,
being justly regarded throughout the commu-
nity as a careful, reliable and enterprising mer-
chant. His word is as good as his bond and he
always stands by his contracts. He is an advo-
cate of public improvement and gives his sup-
port to various measures for the general good.
He now owns a nice property in Elsie and is
one of its substantial citizens, respected by all
who know him for his genuine worth.
WILLIAM W. SMITH.
William W. Smith, living on section 6,
Lebanon township, where he devotes his time
and attention to farming, was born upon this
place January 19, 1868. His father, William
M. Smith, was a native of Allegany county,
New York, born in 182 1, and after he had
reached adult age was married in Wyoming
county, New York, to Miss Orrilla Welles,
whose birth occurred in the latter county. The
young couple began their domestic life upon
a farm in the Empire state and three children
were born unto them there. In February, 1865,
the father removed westward to Michigan,
locating where his son now resides. He be-
came the owner of two hundred acres of land
there. Previous to this time he had visited
the state and purchased his farm, upon which
was a small clearing and a log house. He be-
gan the further development of the place and as
acre after acre was cleared of the timber he
placed it under the plow and planted crops that
in due course of time brought forth rich har-
vests. Year after year his farm work was suc-
cessfully conducted up to the time of his death,
which occurred in June, 1872. His wife sur-
vived him and reared her children and she now
makes her home with her son, William W., en-
joying good health at the age of seventy-four.
In the family were five children: Emma, now
the wife of Myron Goolthrite, a farmer of
Lebanon township; Anna L., the wife of
George L. Knowles, an agriculturist of Mont-
calm county; May S., a teacher of Denver,
Colorado; William W. ; and Laverne, the wife
of Carl Rubin, of New Mexico.
William W. Smith, the only son, spent the
days of his boyhood and youth upon the farm
which has been the place of his manhood's
activity, for throughout his entire life he has
carried on agricultural pursuits. His pre-
liminary education acquired in the common
schools was supplemented by study in the high
school of Ionia. He remained with his mother
on the farm except one summer spent in New
York and, taking charge of the old homestead,
has since conducted it. He succeeded to forty
acres of the estate and purchased a tract of forty
acres, so that he now has a farm of eighty
acres which is well improved and valuable. On
this he has erected a commodious and attractive
residence, which forms one of the pleasing
features of the landscape. He has also built a
large basement barn, one of the best in the
township, at a cost of three thousand dollars.
He has cleared his fields of stumps and stones
and in connection with the cultivation of his
crops raises good grades of stock, making a
specialty of Shropshire sheep. He also has
good cattle, horses and hogs upon his place and
has perfect arrangements for the care of his
farm animals. In fact, everything about his
place is in keeping with modern ideas of pro-
gressive farming and he is justly regarded as
a man of unfaltering diligence, resulting in
successful accomplishment.
On the 3d of January, 1894, in Ionia county
Mr. Smith wras united in marriage to Miss Eva
Keefer, who was born in that county and ac-
quired her education there. She successfully
engaged in teaching for several years prior to
her marriage. Her father, Abraham Keefer,
was formerly from Ohio and was a relative of
Congressman Keifer. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are
the parents of four children: William Harold,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
427
Helen, Maurice Keefer and Marjory. Mrs.
Smith is a member of the Baptist church. Fra-
ternally Mr. Smith is connected with Hub-
bardston lodge of Masons and with the Mac-
cabees tent, while politically he has been a life
long republican. He was elected and served
for one term as justice of the peace and in 1905
was chosen to the office of township treasurer.
His interest in public affairs and his loyalty
to the general good are recognized by his fellow
townsmen, who have manifested their trust in
him by calling him to office and that he justly
merits their confidence is indicated by the
prompt and able manner in which he has dis-
charged his duties. His business record, too,
is creditable and he is classed with the in-
dustrious and prosperous farmers of Lebanon
township.
ROBERT LANDERS.
Robert Landers, who has taken an active and
helpful interest in community affairs and has
been called to a number of local offices, serving
now as postmaster at Riley, is also engaged in
general agricultural pursuits on section 8, Riley
township. He was born at Newport in the west
of Ireland in 1852, and is a son of Richard and
Sarah (Parker) Landers, who spent their en-
tire lives on the Emerald isle. In their family
were ten children, those yet living being: Le-
land, who resides in Riley township; James, of
Chicago, Illinois; Carrie, who is living in
County Sligo, Ireland; Sarah, a resident of
County Tyrone, Ireland; and Robert. The
other five died in their native country.
Robert Landers pursued his education in the
public schools of his home town and when four-
teen years of age started out upon his business
career, serving an apprenticeship in a dry-goods
store. He then went to Dublin, where he was
clerk in a store and in 1871 he came to America,
landing at New York, whence he afterward
made his way to Chicago, while later he took
up his abode in Edmore, Michigan, where he
spent one year. In 1885 he settled in Riley
township, locating on section 7, and in 1887 he
removed to North Riley. Following the de-
struction of his home by fire in 1898 he built
his present home and has since been engaged in
farming. He also carried the mail for a time
to Fowler, afterward to St. Johns and now to
Grand Ledge, and for four years he has been
postmaster of the village of Riley. In other
ways he has served the public, being for the
ninth year the incumbent in the office of town-
ship clerk, while for four years he has been
justice of the peace and for several terms has
been health officer. In politics he is a democrat
with firm faith in the principles of the party.
In office he discharges his duties in prompt and
capable manner and the public trust is indicated
by the fact that he has been so long retained in
various positions.
In 1876 Mr. Landers was united in marriage
to Miss Mary E. Boughton, a daughter of
Samuel and Dorothea Boughton, of Riley town-
ship. They have two living children, Maud E.,
the wife of Archie Hildreth, of Riley township;
and Ruth, at home. They lost their two sons,
Robert and Leland. Mr. Landers has never
had occasion to regret his determination to seek
a home in America for here he has found and
improved good business opportunities and has
gradually advanced, winning creditable success
and also an honored name which comes in recog-
nition of an upright and active life. Depend-
ent upon his own resources from the age of
fourteen years his success is attributable en-
tirely to his earnest and indefatigable labor.
JOHN W. HOWARD.
John W. Howard, owner of one of the fine
farms of Eagle township, his home being on
section 7, is a native of Orange county, New
York, born April 18, 1845. His parents were
William T. and Alice (Henry) Howard, the
former a native of England, and the latter of
New York, but both have now passed away
after many years' residence in the Empire state.
John W. Howard received but limited edu-
cational privileges for at an early age he started
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
out in life on his own account. He left home
when a youth of fourteen, went to New York
city and was engaged in boating on the Dela-
ware and Schuylkill rivers and Chesapeake Bay.
The year 1864 witnessed his arrival in Michi-
gan. He went to Ionia county, where he was
employed for three years by the month as a
farm hand, during which time he saved from
his earnings the capital that enabled him to
purchase a tract of land. This he secured and
improved and made thereon a good farm, erect-
ing substantial buildings and adding all modern
equipments. In 1871 he was married and
brought his bride to the farm on which he con-
tinued until the fall of 1885, when he sold that
property and came to Eagle township, settling
on section 7, where he purchased eighty acres
of land.
Mr. Howard was united in marriage in 187 1
to Miss Minerva Arnold, a daughter of Caleb
and Mary Arnold, of the Empire state. Mr.
Howard has placed his land under a high state
of cultivation and is practical and enterprising
in all his methods. In citizenship, too, he is
reliable, being interested in everything that per-
tains to the general welfare and his co-operation
may be counted upon to further movements for
the material improvement and development of
this part of the state.
EDWIN S. LEONARD, M. D.
Dr. Edwin S. Leonard, practicing along
modern scientific lines with an intimate and ac-
curate knowledge of the most advanced
methods of the profession, has a splendidly
equipped office in Ovid, supplied with all mod-
ern equipments. He is a native of North
Adams, Massachusetts, born February 1, 1835.
His paternal grandfather, Levi Leonard, was
likewise born in North Adams, was a surveyor
by profession and was also a teacher. His son,
Rev. Silas Leonard, likewise a native of Mas-
sachusetts, prepared for the ministry and
joined the Methodist Episcopal conference. He
was in active wrork as an itinerant preacher
of New England for many years and he died
in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the age of
thirty-eight. He married Hulda Mixer, who
likewise belonged to an old family of Mas-
sachusetts, whence representatives of the family
removed to Michigan, Illinois and New York.
Mrs. Leonard died when her son Edwin was
two years of age, leaving three sons : Levi, who
for twenty years was in the custom house at
Portland, Maine, but is now deceased; Ezra;
and Edwin S.
The last named was educated in the common
schools of his native town and also in North
Adams Academy. His boyhood days were
spent upon the home farm and at the age of
fifteen years he entered upon his business career,
earning his first money in a woolen factory.
From the money thus secured he saved enough
to enable him to prepare for the profession and
began the study of medicine at Ionia, Michigan,
under the direction of Dr. Bayard, with whom
he continued for a year. In 1857 he matricu-
lated in the medical department of the
University of Michigan and a year later began
practice in Greenville, this state. In 1863 he
entered the Eclectic Medical Institute, at Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated,
and in 1864 he came to Ovid. The following
year he was appointed contract surgeon for the
Twenty-seventh Michigan Infantry under
Colonel Fox, in which capacity he remained for
six months, returning at the end of that time
to Ovid, wrhere for four years he conducted a
drug store. He then resumed the active prac-
tice of medicine in 1875, removing to Wichita,
Kansas, where he remained for four and a half
years, returning to Ovid in December, 1879.
He has since been an active practitioner of this
place, making a specialty of the treatment of
chronic diseases and within a recent period he
has equipped his office with the X-ray machine
and an electric therapeutical laboratory, devoted
to the scientific employment of natural methods
in the treatment and cure of diseases. He is
a close student of physiological therapeutics and
of natural methods which represent the quint-
essence of scientific correctness and successful
treatment. His labors have been attended with
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
429
a high measure of success and his capability and
prominence in the medical fraternity are widely
recognized.
Dr. Leonard was first married to Miss Har-
riet S. Dan forth, of Pennsylvania, who died
leaving one son, De Los E. Leonard, now of
Chicago. In 1876 Dr. Leonard wedded Miss
Susan Hicks, a daughter of Solomon Hicks,
of Ovid. He belongs to the Methodist Episco-
pal church and to the Masonic fraternity, and
his political support is given to the republican
party. His interest, however, centers in his
profession, wherein he is making continuous ad-
vancement, his investigation and reading con-
stantly broadening his knowledge and promot-
ing his efficiency.
JOHN MALONY.
John Malony, who follows the occupation of
farming on section 26, Eagle township, was
born in Monroe county, New York, July 15,
1850, and is a son of Michael and Bridget
(Corbit) Malony, both of whom were natives
of Ireland. Subsequent to their marriage they
crossed the Atlantic to the United States and
settled in Monroe county, New York, where
they spent their remaining days, the father
dying at the age of seventy years, while the
mother passed away at the age of thirty-five
years when her son John was a small lad. In
their family were two sons and four daugh-
ters: Mary, the wife of Thomas Malley, of
Monroe county, New York; Michael, of Penn-
sylvania; Jennie, the wife of Melburn Welch,
of Detroit, Michigan; John, of this review;
Adelia, the wife of E. M. Burroughs, of De-
troit, Michigan; and Ella, the deceased wife of
George Ross.
Mr. Malony, whose name introduces this
record, is now largely engaged in agricultural
pursuits and has led a very industrious life. His
educational privileges were limited for he was
bound out after his mother's death when only
eight years of age, entering the employ of
Lewis Allen at that time. When thirteen years
of age he began working by the month as a
farm hand and was thus employed until twenty-
six years of age, when he was married and
came to Clinton county, Michigan, settling first
on section 23, Eagle township. In 1899 he
removed to his present farm and here owns one
hundred and twenty acres of land. He cleared
a part of his first farm and to the further de-
velopment and improvement of his present farm
has given his time and attention with the re-
sult that his labors have been crowned by a
gratifying measure of prosperity. He has
worked diligently and persistently and as the
years have gone by has made many modern im-
provements on his property.
On the 6th of October, 1876, Mr. Malony
was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Allen, a
daughter of Nathan W. Allen, of Monroe
county, New York. They have five children:
Edith, the wife of Arthur Phillips; Nathan,
who is living on the home farm in Eagle town-
ship; and who married Miss Zua De Witt;
Dora, William Jay and Jennie, all at home.
Mr. Malony endorses democratic principles
and votes for that party when national issues
and questions are involved but at local elections
casts an independent ballot. He is regarded
in the community where he resides as a good
neighbor, a public-spirited and respected citizen
and a reliable business man, and now he is one of
the substantial agriculturists of his community
because he has worked diligently and persist-
ently in the acquirement of a comfortable com-
petence.
GEORGE B. BRIGGS.
George B. Briggs is one of the representative
and energetic business men of Elsie, where he
is well known as the owner of an elevator and
as a grain merchant. He has lived here since
1885 and in addition to handling grain he also
deals in seeds, beans, eggs and farm produce,
being a member of the firm of Curtis & Briggs.
His natal day was November 12, 1857, and the
place of his birth, Wayne county, Ohio. His
father, John Briggs, was likewise a native of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
the same county and was reared and married
there, Miss Sylvia J. Huston, a native of Erie
county, New York, becoming his wife. Mr.
Briggs was a business man and farmer, who
carried on a boot and shoe trade in the town
of Converse, where he reared his family and
spent the greater part of his life. His death
occurred in that place and for several years
he was survived by his wife, who, however, has
now passed away.
George B. Briggs, whose name introduces
this review, acquired his early education in the
public schools of Converse and afterward at-
tended school in Lodi, Michigan. When a
young man he made his way to Detroit in 1879
and entered the employ of the Michigan Car
Company. He wTas afterward in the service of
the Central Car Company as a carpenter and
joiner for five years and on resigning his posi-
tion there he came to Elsie in 1885. His first
business connection with this place was as a
carpenter and joiner and for a few years he thus
represented building operations, but later he
formed a partnership with L. W. Curtis and
built the elevator, since which time he has been
engaged in the grain, coal and tile business.
They have secured a very liberal patronage,
which comes from Clinton and adjoining
counties. The firm has now had a continuous
existence of about fifteen years. They began
in a small way as wholesale dealers in eggs
and beans and gradually increased until now
they have an annual business of many thou-
sands of dollars, their egg business alone
amounting to more than thirty thousand dollars
in the year 1904. They extended the field of
their operations by becoming dealers in seeds
and grain, farm produce of all kinds, coal, tile,
brick and lime. In 1894 they erected an ele-
vator along the tracks of the Ann Arbor Rail-
road, having a capacity of ten thousand bushels
of grain and their holdings are frequently so
large as to materially overtax the limit of their
plant.
On the 25th of October, 1879, Mr. Briggs
was united in marriage to Miss Abbie Fox, a
native of Canada, in which country she was
reared. They now have six children: Arthur,
who is married and resides in Elsie; Althea;
Delia; Neva; Ruth; and Rose. Mr. Briggs is
a member of Elsie lodge, A. F. & A. M., and
he and his wife are connected with the Order
of the Eastern Star. He likewise belongs to
the Owosso lodge of Elks and has fraternal re-
lations with the Maccabees and the Woodmen.
He has always been a stanch republican but
never an office seeker, preferring to give his
time and energies to his business affairs. He
realizes that enterprise and close application
constitute the surest basis of success and to
these qualities he adds sound business judg-
ment, so that each step in his career has been
carefully and thoughtfully made and has been
a resultant factor in carrying him forward to
the goal of prosperity.
ROBERT McCONKEY.
Robert McConkey, owner of a farm of one
hundred and sixty acres on section 24, Bath
township, and a resident of the county since
1876, was born in West Williambury, Ontario,
Canada, on the 3d of June, 1856. His parents,
John and Catherine (Johnson) McConkey,
were also natives of the Dominion, where they
were reared and married. In the year i860
they removed from Canada to the Empire state,
settling on a farm in Niagara county, where the
father spent his remaining days, his death oc-
curring there about 1873. His wife survived
him for about three years. In their family
were six sons and six daughters, all of whom
reached adult age and became heads of families,
while five sons and two daughters are yet liv-
ing.
Robert McConkey, whose name introduces
this record, was reared on a farm and in his
youth became familiar with the various duties
that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He was
ten years of age when the family removed to
New York and subsequently he returned to
Canada, where he was married on the 29th of
December, 1875, the lady of his choice being
Miss Isabelle Ney, who was born and reared
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
431
there. In 1876 they once more crossed the
border into the United States and at this time
Mr. McConkey took up his abode in Clinton
county, Michigan, where he invested his capital
in forty acres of land in Dewitt township. Here
he began to farm the place and further improve
it, making his home thereon for a number of
years, when he sold out and bought where he
now resides, becoming owner of an improved
tract of land on section 24, Bath township. He
has carried his work forward along progressive
lines of farming and excellent results have at-
tended his efforts. He raises good grades of
cattle and Poland China hogs and his stock
interests as well as his grain-raising are proving
profitable to him. For a year he retired from
the farm and carried on an implement business
in Laingsburg but after two years he sold out
there. He had resided in town but a year when
he returned to the farm, although it was a year
later before he disposed of his mercantile in-
terests. With this exception his undivided at-
tention has been given to agricultural pursuits.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. McConkey have been
born four children : Ruby, the wife of Elmer
Carleton, of Lansing; Mary, the wife of J. B.
Shaft, of Lansing; Robert T., who is married
and carries on the home farm with his father;
and Lula Belle, at home. The mother is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church and
Mr. McConkey has membership relations with
Laingsburg lodge, A. F. & A. M., and the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows in Laings-
burg. In the last named he has filled all of the
offices and has likewise been a delegate to the
grand lodge of the state holding its meetings
in Detroit. His political allegiance is given to
the republican party and he is inflexible in his
endorsement of its principles. He was elected
and served for one term as supervisor and then
a year after his retirement from office he was
re-elected and is filling the position for the
second term. He has served and is still serving
on some important committees and is a man
of sound judgment and good business ability,
which he brings to bear upon his official duties
as well as his private interests. He has made
four assessments of his township and in all his
public work has commanded the esteem and
trust of his constituents and the community at
large.
JOHN VANGIESON.
John Vangieson, the owner of farming in-
terests covering one hundred and thirty-three
acres of good land on section 21, Eagle town-
ship, was born in this county on the 17th of
March, 1846, his parents being Marcellus and
Hannah (Merkey) Vangieson, the former a
native of New Jersey, and the latter of Eng-
land. In the year 1841 they came to Clinton
county, settling in Dallas township on a farm
of two hundred acres which was in the midst
of the forest. With characteristic energy the
father began to clear and improve that prop-
erty and in due course of time developed a
good farm. He was active and influential in
community interests and served as clerk and
treasurer of his township. His death occurred
in 1892, when he was seventy-one years of age,
while his widow is still living. John Vangie-
son, the paternal grandfather, arrived in Michi-
gan in 1836 and settled in Washtenaw county,
where he spent his remaining days. John Van-
gieson, was one of a family of seven children,
the others being: Elizabeth, now the wife of
Morris Drake, of Eagle township; Amanda,
the wife of Dennis Parks, also of Eagle town-
ship; Jane, the wife of William Chase and a
resident of Tuscola county, Michigan; Adeline,
the wife of Eli Martin, of Tuscola county;
Thomas H., who is living in Dallas township,
Clinton county; and Ellen, the deceased wife
of C. N. Rice.
John Vangieson is indebted to the district-
school system of Clinton county for the educa-
tional privileges he enjoyed. He was also
trained to the labors of the farm and when
twenty-one years of age he left home and set-
tled in Bengal township, where he resided for
fourteen years. He afterward spent five years
in Tecumseh, where he engaged in the lumber
business and then removed to St. Johns, con-
ducting a farm there in Bengal township. In
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PAST AND PRESENT GF CLINTON COUNTY.
the fall of 1899 he came to his present farm on
section 21, Eagle township, having here one
hundred and thirty-three acres of rich and pro-
ductive land. It has been well improved by
tiling and fencing since his purchase and all
modern equipments and accessories added.
On the 29th of November, 1870, Mr. Van-
gieson was united in marriage to Miss Emily
Temple, a daughter of Merritt and Sabrina
(Bliss) Temple, natives of the Green Mountain
state but residents of Riley township at the
time of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Vangie-'
son. Two children bless this union : Grace, now
the wife of Grant Acre, of Eagle township ; and
Fred B., who is living in the state of Wash-
ington.
In his farm work Mr. Vangieson has labored
earnestly and indefatigably and as the years
have passed has become the owner of a good
property, which in its well improved and thrifty
appearance is an indication of his careful super-
vision and practical methods. He is a most
energetic man and an excellent farmer. He
belongs to the Grange and to the Maccabees.
ABRAHAM L. UNDERWOOD.
Abraham L. Underwood, living on section 6,
Essex township, is a prosperous farmer, whose
home place comprises over one hundred acres
of land on section 6, Essex township. He also
owns over two hundred acres of bottom land
and his farming interests return to him a grati-
fying annual income. He was born in Lebanon
township, Clinton county, January 4, 1867. His
father, H. G. Underwood, was born in Canada,
October 4, 1827, while his parents were on
their way to this country from England, and
in his childhood days came to Michigan, being
reared in Oakland county. His father was Asa
B. Underwood, a native of England and one of
the first settlers of Oakland county, establish-
ing his home there in 1829, after which he
opened up a large farm.
H. G. Underwood was reared there and when
a young man came to "Clinton county. This
was in 1859 and he purchased land in Lebanon
township, which he transformed into a produc-
tive farm. He was married in this county to
Miss Permelia Haynes, a native of Ohio and a
daughter of Joseph Haynes, formerly of Penn-
sylvania. In 1 87 1 he purchased the farm upon
which A. L. Underwood now resides. The
land was cleared but there were no buildings
upon it, so that he erected a house, barn and
sheds, also fenced the place, cleared the stumps
and stones from the fields and in fact made the
farm a valuable property. His time and ener-
gies were devoted to its further cultivation and
improvement up to the time of his death, which
occurred on the 9th of June, 1889. His wife
had previously passed away, her death occur-
ring September 17, 1877. In their family were
four children, namely Charles J. ; Abraham L. ;
Linna M., the wife of Arnold Payne, of Maple
Rapids; Mella, who died February 8, 1875, at
the age of eight months.
Abraham L. Underwood, spending his toy-
hood days on the home farm, early became
familiar with the duties and labors that fall to
the lot of the agriculturist. He attended the
district schools and afterward continued his
studies in the schools of Maple Rapids. He re-
mained with his father until the latter's death
and afterward succeeded to a part of the old
homestead, since which time he has purchased
nearly three hundred acres of land in one body,
comprising plowed, pasture and timber land.
He has fenced the place, built a barn and gran-
ary, also sheds and tanks, has put in a windmill,
and in fact has made all of the present modern
improvements. The farm in its neat and thrifty
appearance is indicative of his careful super-
vision and progressive methods and also of the
unremitting diligence which he displays in the
care of his property.
On the 29th of March, 1899, in Essex town-
ship, Mr. Underwood was united in marriage
to Miss Edith Payne, a native of Clinton
county, Michigan, and a daughter of Henry
Payne. They now have a family of three chil-
dren: Reba L., Acil B. and Anzil D. They
also lost one daughter, Eva, in infancy. Mrs.
Underwood is a member of the Christian
church.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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Politically Mr. Underwood is a republican
where national issues are involved but at local
elections votes independently, nor does he seek
nor desire office. He served, however, as path-
master for twelve years and has been a member
of the jury a number of times. He has a wide
and favorable acquaintance in St. Johns and
throughout the country and his life record is an
indication of what may be accomplished when
one has the will to dare and to do. Realizing
that labor is the basis of all honorable prosper-
ity, he has worked persistently as the years have
gone by and though he has met with difficulties
and obstacles he has conquered these by a reso-
lute will and unfaltering energy and is today
one of the substantial agriculturists of his com-
munity, one of the most prosperous farmers and
one of the wealtiest young cattle buyers of
northern Clinton county.
JAMES H. FISH.
James H. Fish, who follows general agricul-
tural pursuits on section 20, Eagle township,
was born in this township, July 7, 1864, his
parents being Silas P. and Almira P. (Merrill)
Fish, natives of Pennsylvania and New York
respectively. The father came to Clinton
county, Michigan, in 1833, settling on section
22, Eagle township, where he made his home
until 1868, when he removed to section 20. On
the 25th of September, 1868, he married Miss
Almira P. Merrill, who had come west in 1838
with her maternal grandparents, Fletcher and
Mary Jennison, early settlers of Clinton
county. Here Mr. Jennison took up govern-
ment land, becoming owner of section 22, Eagle
township, and he continued to make his home
thereon until his death, which occurred in
1868. His wife died some time later. The
father of our subject passed away in 1869 at
the age of forty-five years, and in 1872 the
mother married William Dravenstatt, who died
in 1898. The farm upon which James H. Fish
resides was entered by his father but the im-
provements thereon have been mainly made
since his death, his widow and only son con-
tinuing the work of development and cultiva-
tion. They erected good buildings and added
modern equipments to the place.
James H. Fisk pursued a district-school
education and afterward attended the high
school at Portland, Michigan. He has since
devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits
and the supervision of the homestead farm. He
was four and a half years old when his parents
removed to the place upon which he now re-
sides, and the excellent modern improvements
which are here found are largely due to his in-
dustry, efforts and enterprise. He has two hun-
dred acres of rich land which is very pro-
ductive and valuable, and he was the first
farmer to build a silo in Eagle township, it
having a capacity of one hundred and twenty
tons. In 190 1 he built a cheese factory, which
has an output of ten thousand pounds of cheese
per month. The product is of superior quality
and finds a ready sale on the local market. In
all of his work Mr. Fish is practical and enter-
prising and carries forward to successful com-
pletion whatever he undertakes.
On the 27th of November, 1888, occurred
the marriage of James H. Fish and Miss Nellie
E. Stearns, a daughter of Thompson E.
Stearns, of Crawford county, Wisconsin. They
now have one son, Ellwood Bard. In the com-
munity wThere they reside their circle of friends
is extensive and the hospitality of the best homes
is freely accorded them. Mr. Fish is recog-
nized as a prominent representative of the re-
publican party and has taken an active interest
in its local work. He served as treasurer of the
township four terms and has been town clerk
since 1901. He belongs to the Universalist
church and several fraternal organizations, in-
cluding Eagle lodge, No. 65, I. O. O. F., in
which he has filled all of the chairs. He like-
wise affiliates with the Woodmen of America
and the Gleaners. During a life-long residence
in Eagle township he has made a record that is
creditable and honorable and has won for him
the unqualified regard of a large circle of
friends and acquaintances. His business inter-
ests have been capably and profitably conducted
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
and at the same time he has found opportunity
to aid in the progress of public measures that
have been of direct benefit to his township and
county.
WILLIAM F. BEEBEE.
William F. Beebee, justice of the peace in
Greenbush township, and a representative
farmer there, living on section 23, has made his
home in Clinton county since 1865 and h^s nfe
of industry and enterprise is indicated by the
fact that although he started out for himself
empty-handed he is now the owner of one
hundred acres of rich and productive land. He
was born in Madison county, New York, July
3, 1852, and is a son of Sylvester Beebee, whose
birth occurred in Herkimer county, in 1830.
The paternal grandfather, Cyrus Beebee, was a
native of the Empire state, born on Long
Island but removed to Herkimer county, where
Sylvester Beebee was reared and educated.
There the latter was married to Miss Abbie
Ann Vincent, likewise a native of the Empire
state. She died in 1859, leaving two children,
who had been born upon the home farm in New
York. Mr. Beebee continued his residence in
the east until 1865, when he came to Michigan
and bought a tract of land in Essex township,
Clinton county, whereon he resided for four
years. He then sold that property and pur-
chased the farm upon which his son William
now resides. He at once began its further culti-
vation and improvement, devoting his attention
to agricultural pursuits until after he lost his
second wife, when he removed to St. Johns,
making his home there up to the time of his
death, which occurred in February, 1900. He
was a prominent and influential resident of the
township, wielding a wide influence in public
affairs and for twenty-four consecutive years
he capably served as justice of the peace, win-
ning high encomiums by his just and fair de-
cisions and his unfaltering fidelity to duty. He
likewise filled other public positions of honor
and trust and he gained the unqualified re-
gard and confidence of his fellowmen so that
his death was the occasion of deep and wide-
spread regret when he was called to his final
rest.
William F. Beebee is one of the two children
born of the first marriage, his sister being
Emma L., the wife of William Bird, of St.
Johns. Mr. Beebee was a lad of eleven years
when he accompanied his father on his removal
to Michigan, and upon the home farm he was
reared, while in the district schools he pursued
his education. When not engaged with his
text-books he assisted in the work of the fields
and gained practical experience in the best
methods of raising grain and stock. After his
marriage he located on a farm on section 23,
Ovid township, where he had a small tract of
land which he cultivated and improved for four
or five years. He then sold out and bought
sixty acres, where he now resides. This he be-
gan to improve and has transformed his farm
into a valuable property and has extended its
boundaries by additional purchase until he now
has one hundred acres of valuable land on sec-
tion 23, Greenbush township. Much arduous
labor was required to make his farm cultivable
and bring it to its present high state of cultiva-
tion but he has worked on persistently and
energetically year after year and is regarded as
one of the representative agriculturists of the
community. The waving fields of grain
promise rich harvests, an orchard yields its
fruits in season and everything about the farm
is attractive in appearance, giving proof of
the care and labor of the owner.
On the 1st of January, 1871, in Greenbush
township, Mr. Beebee was married to Miss
Dessie A. Green, a daughter of William Green,
a native of England, who on coming to Clinton
county settled in Greenbush township. He had
previously lived in Ohio, where Mrs. Beebee
was born, her girlhood days, however, being
largely passed in Clinton county. After their
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Beebee located in Ovid
township and thert removed to their present
farm. They have become the parents of four
children: Nora L., who was educated in the
schools of St. Johns and Big Rapids and is now
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
435
a teacher of this county; Bertha M., also a
teacher, who was educated in the common
schools and in St. Johns; and Stella M. and
Lawrence S., both at home. Mr. Beebee votes
with the republican party and has been one of
its stanch and unfaltering advocates since cast-
ing his first presidential vote for Rutherford
B. Hayes in 1876. He is an active worker in
local political circles and in 1901 was elected
justice of the peace, to which position he was
re-elected in 1905 for a second term of four
years. Like his father he has made a most
creditable record in this office, his decisions
being based upon the law and the equity of the
case. He is a public-spirited man, whose
efforts have been of benefit to the locality. A
believer in good schools, he has advocated the
employment of good teachers and has done ef-
fective service for the cause of education dur-
ing seventeen years' connection with the school
board. He has also been school moderator and
director and he has frequently been chosen as
a delegate to the county conventions of the re-
publican party. Both he and his wife are mem-
bers of the Christian church of Eureka, and are
people of genuine worth to whom the hospitality
of the best homes of the locality is cordially
extended.
CHARLES H. EATON.
Charles H. Eaton is one of Michigan's native
sons, his birth having occurred in Middlebury
township, Shiawassee county, on the 8th of
June, 1875. He is a son of Abram M. and
Emma G. (Faxon) Eaton, who were natives
of Oakland and Clinton counties respectively.
When a boy the father removed to Shiawassee
county, where he spent the greater part of his
life. He was born March 9, 1843, an^ died
in 1898, while his wife, who was born March
24, 1847, d^d in 1890.
The ancestry of the family can be traced still
farther back for Samuel Eaton, the grand-
father, was a native of New Jersey, whence he
emigrated westward to Oakland county, Michi-
gan, subsequently removing to Shiawassee
county. He was a circuit preacher, known in
this state as a pioneer minister of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church. His death occurred in
1885, when he was seventy-five years of age.
The Eatons were originally from New Jersey,
while the Faxons were from the state of New
York.
Charles H. Eaton acquired his education in
the public schools of Ovid and in the Detroit
Business College, from which he was graduated
on the 3d of April, 1895. His school life being
ended, he returned to Ovid and entered into
partnership with his father in the carriage busi-
ness under the firm style of Eaton & Son. They
conducted this enterprise together for three
years or until the father's death, since which
time the enterprise has been continued. Mr.
Eaton admitted J. J. Munson to a partnership
under the firm style of Eaton & Munson, which
relation was maintained until the spring of
1905, when Mr. Eaton sold out to his partner.
He is the owner of a large farm in Middlebury
township, Shiawassee county, this being the old
homestead property containing three hundred
and seventy-seven acres. At the time the
grandfather arrived in Michigan this tract wTas
all an unbroken wilderness, Samuel Eaton en-
tering forty acres from the government, to
which he added from time to time until he be-
came the owner of a valuable property. The
first eighty acres was cleared through hard and
unremitting labor and the final payment upon
the place was made with the bounty money
which Abram Eaton received when he entered
the Civil war. This land has become very valu-
able and the acreage of the farm has been ex-
tended until it now includes four hundred acres.
There are modern buildings upon the property
and all of the up-to-date equipments. In 1885
Abram M. Eaton built an attractive residence
in the village of Ovid, which is now owned by
Charles H. Eaton, and upon which he has made
many modern improvements, making it one of
the attractive homes of the town.
On the 28th of December, 1898, occurred
the marriage of Charles H. Eaton and Miss
Jennie Bruce, a daughter of Charles Bruce, of
Detroit, Michigan, and their children are Mar-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
vin Bruce and Margaret Adele. Mr. Eaton is
a member of the Masonic fraternity and the
Owosso lodge of Elks. He is a progressive
young man of splendid business ability and ex-
ecutive force who has been closely associated
with industrial interests in Ovid and has made
a creditable record through his enterprise, relia-
bility and ready utilization of opportunities.
BENJAMIN TAYLOR.
Benjamin Taylor devotes his time and ener-
gies to farming and stock-raising on section i,
Bath township, his farm comprising one hun-
dred and fifty-four acres that is rich and pro-
ductive and from which he annually harvests
good crops. A native of Michigan he has ever
been imbued with the spirit of enterprise that
has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding
of the middle west. He was born in the town-
ship of Commerce, Oakland county, June 6,
1839. His father, Abraham Taylor, was a
native of Pennsylvania, born in 1814, and was
a son of George Taylor, likewise a native of
the Keystone state, where they remained until
about 1 83 1, when they sought a home in the
west, believing that the new and rapidly devel-
oping country would prove a better field of
labor than in the older and more thickly set-
tled districts of the east, and George Taylor en-
tered one hundred and sixty acres of land from
the government. Not a furrow had been turned
nor an improvement made upon this place, but
it was not long before trees were cut down and
the sunlight flooded the open fields. Grain was
then sown over the plowed ground and in the
course of time sprang up in rich harvests.
Abraham Taylor was a youth of seventeen
years when he came with his father to Michigan
and after he had reached adult age he was
married to Miss Clarissa Taylor, a native of
New York, who in her girlhood days was
brought to this state by her parents. The father
of our subject devoted his attention to general
farming in Oakland county and owned and
operated a valuable tract of land of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, the care and labor he be-
stowed upon the fields making his place very
productive, while the buildings which he erected
and the modern equipments which he added
made his one of the best farms of the locality.
He continued to reside thereon until called to
his final home in 1896. His wife survived him
for about a year, passing away in 1897. ^n
their family were five sons and four daughters
and with the exception of one daughter all are
yet living.
Benjamin Taylor spent his youth and early
manhood in Oakland county, remaining with
his father until he attained his majority and
early became inured to the labor of the farm as
he assisted in the work of plowing, planting and
harvesting. When he had reached adult age
he started out to make his own way in the
world by working as a farm hand by the month
and was thus employed for several years, con-
tinuing in the service of one man for three
years and five months without the loss of a
single day during that time.
In 1865, m Oakland county, Mr. Taylor was
united in marriage to Miss Samantha Reynolds,
a native of Lapeer county, this state, who died
in Oakland county in 1891, leaving a son, Ira
Taylor, w^ho is now married and resides in Oak-
land, where he own an elevator and is engaged
in the grain business. Having lost his first
wife Mr. Taylor was again married in Oak-
land county, in November, 1894, his second
union being with Mary Clark, a native of that
county, where she spent her girlhood days and
obtained her education. There is a son and
two daughters of this marriage, Clark, Mildred
and Bernice.
After his first marriage Mr. Taylor engaged
quite extensively in buying and shipping stock
in Oakland county and also carried on a farm.
He made his home there until May, 1896, when
he removed to Clinton county, having pre-
viously purchased the tract of land upon which
he now resides. The farm was in a dilapidated
condition at that time but he began to improve
it in accordance with modern ideas, fenced the
place, erected substantial buildings and in fact
has made the farm what it is today. Here he
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
437
is now successfully raising good stock, making
a specialty of high grade Durham cattle. He
votes independently of party ties nor has he
ever sought or desired office. He did serve,
however, as deputy sheriff of Oakland county
and likewise was highway commissioner but
in this county has given his undivided attention
to his farm. His wife is a member of the Bap-
tist church. Mr. Taylor has spent his entire
life in Michigan and is one of the honest yeo-
men of Bath township whose worth is recog-
nized by those who know him and who have
had business or social relations with him.
JOHN PINGEL.
John Pingel, residing on section 20, Riley
township, where he has valuable and profitable
farming interests, is a native of Mechlenburg,
Germany, born November 4, 183 1, his parents
being Charles and Hannah (Saffo) Pingel, who
came to the United States and established their
home in New York. John Pingel of this re-
view took up his abode in Niagara county, New
York, in 1850, when a young man of about
nineteen years and in 1856 came to Michigan,
spending six months in Macomb county. He
then removed to St. Johns, where he lived for
two and a half years, after which he located
on a small farm in Bingham township. Later
he traded that property for one hundred and
twenty acres of his present farm, situated on
section 20, Riley township, and with character-
istic energy began the development and im-
provement of this place. He now owns one
hundred and forty acres of good land which
is today a well improved property, from which
he has cleared the stumps and stones, placing
the land under a high state of cultivation. He
built a good modern farm house seventeen years
ago and in 1898 erected a substantial barn. He
has also added other outbuildings for the shel-
ter of grain and stock and altogether has a good
place. In early life Mr. Pingel read medicine
according to the homeopathic school and in his
neighborhood has been very successful in his
treatment of diseases for over thirty-five years.
He has made a specialty of typhoid cases, in
which he has excelled, effecting many cures.
Farming, however, has been his principal occu-
pation and he has found it a profitable source
of income, owing to his careful management of
his fields and well directed labor in all the de-
partments of agricultural activity. In 1855
Mr. Pingel was united in marriage to Miss
Dora Krieger, a native of Germany, and they
have become the parents of four children: So-
phia, the wife of August Yostrem, of Riley
township; Ella, the wife of James Parkhouse,
an agriculturist of the same township ; Louise,
the wife of Fred Oppenlander, of Delta town-
ship, Eaton county; and W. Edward, of Riley
township. The parents are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Pinge-1
has served as a member of the board of reviews
and as pathmaster in his township. During his
long residence in Clinton county, covering a
period of almost forty years he has witnessed
many changes as the work of development and
improvement has been carried steadily forward.
The most far-sighted could scarcely have
dreamed of the transformation that has
been wrought here. The traveler four decades
ago passing through the dense forests could
scarcely realize that within a comparatively few
years all the great timber tracts would have
been reduced to lumber and in their place would
be seen waving fields of grain, while here and
there towns and villages would be established,
containing industrial and commercial enter-
prises and all of the advantages known to the
older east. Mr. Pingel in an active business
career has won a fair measure of success and
is now the owner of one of the good farms of
his locality.
LEWIS F. GILSON.
Lewis F. Gilson, living on section 4, Green-
bush township, devotes his attention to agri-
cultural life along practical lines of improve-
ment, and owns a well improved farm of sev-
enty acres. He was born in Henry county, '
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Ohio, May 15, 1857, and is a son of William
Gilson, whose birth occurred July 24, 1832, in
Holmes county, Ohio, while the grandfather,
Richard Gilson, was likewise born in Holmes
county. Subsequently, however, the grand-
father removed to Henry county, Ohio, where
he reared his family. William Gilson spent
the days of his boyhood and youth in his par-
ents' home and assisted in carrying on the farm
so that he early became familiar with the duties
and labors that fall to the lot of the agricultur-
ist. He was married in Henry county to Miss
Susan Gehratt, a native of Ohio, and a daughter
of Benjamin Gehratt, whose birth occurred in
Pennsylvania, but he removed from the Key-
stone state to Henry county, Ohio. Mr. and
Mrs. Gilson became the parents of eight chil-
dren, all of whom reached years of maturity.
The father worked at the trade of a carpenter
and joiner until 1861, when he responded to
the country's call for aid, enlisting in the Sixty-
eighth Ohio Infantry. He was afterward made
quartermaster and colonel of his regiment and
served for three years and eight months, prov-
ing a loyal soldier who faithfully discharged
his duties at all times. Following his return
from the army he came to Clinton county,
Michigan, where he purchased eighty acres of
raw timber land which he began to clear and
improve, transforming the tract into a fine farm.
Lewis F. Gilson accompanied his parents on
their removal to Michigan and assisted his
father in carrying on the home farm until his
twrenty-second year, when he began farming on
his own account, purchasing forty acres of
land and afterward sold that property and
bought a tract of seventy acres where he now
resides.
On the 10th of August, 1879, was celebrated
the marriage of Mr.. Gilson and Miss Almena
Post, a daughter of Hiram Post and a sister of
Mrs. A. B. Dexter, whose sketch appears else-
where in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Gilson have
but one child, Maud, now the wife of Clarence
Bair, a farmer of Greenbush township.
Since taking up his abode on his present
farm Mr. Gilson has built a good two story
residence, also a substantial barn and outbuild-
ings, and has a neat and productive farm. The
fields are well tilled and promise good harvests,
while in the pastures are found good grades of
stock. Politically Mr. Gilson is a stalwart re-
publican, always supporting the men and meas-
ures of the party, and for seven years he served
as highway commissioner, while for one year
he was a member of the board of reviews. His
interest in community affairs is deep and sin-
cere and has led to his active co-operation in
many measures which have been of direct bene-
fit to his locality. He belongs to the Maccabees
tent No. 206 of St. Johns, and also to the Mod-
ern Woodmen camp No. 3210 at Eureka, and
served as banker of the lodge there for one
term. He and his wife hold membership in the
Methodist Episcopal church of Greenbush.
During a long residence here Mr. Gilson has
so lived as to win the confidence and respect
of his fellowmen and at the same time has capa-
bly managed business interests so that he is
now owner of an excellent farm.
AMBROSE E. GALLUP.
Ambrose E. Gallup, a representative of a
pioneer family living on section 35, Eagle town-
ship, was born on the 5th of August, 1866, in
the township which is still his home, his parents
being Eli and Anna (Honor) Gallup, both of
whom were natives of Knox, Albany county,
New York. The paternal grandfather also
bore the name of Eli Gallup, was a native of
Connecticut, and lived to the very advanced
age of ninety-three years. Of his family, Eli
Gallup, Jr., was the only one who came to
Clinton county. He had five brothers who re-
mained in Monroe county, New York. The
living members of the family are: Sarah, now
the wife of Lorenzo Crippen, of Monroe county,
New York; John, who is living in Brockport,
that state; Jackson, whose home is in Clarkson,
New York; George, who resides at Adams
Basin, Monroe county, New York. Mary is
the deceased wife of Ephraim Crippen;
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
439
and Matilda is the deceased wife of Har-
vey Corbin. John Honor, the maternal
Grandfather of our subject, was a native
of England and in early life crossed the Atlan-
tic to the United States, becoming proprietor of
a hotel in Syracuse, New York, where he died.
It was his daughter Anna, who married Eli
Gallup, Jr. Following their marriage they re-
moved to Michigan, settling upon the farm
which is now the home of their son Ambrose.
The father purchased a half section of land and
began the development of a farm, making it a
valuable property by reason of the care and
labor he bestowed upon it as the years went by.
He died September 6, 1894, at the age of
seventy-three years, and his widow is yet living
upon the old homestead with her son Ambrose.
Eli Gallup and Horace Brown made the jour-
ney together to this county and secured adjoin-
ing farms, the original property of Mr. Brown
now belonging to John Malony. In commun-
ity interests Mr. Gallup took an active and help-
ful interest and served as highway commis-
sioner. He also belonged to the Masonic fra-
ternity and was a charter member of the blue
lodge at Portland, Michigan. He was recog-
nized as a good citizen, public-spirited and pro-
gressive and his efforts in behalf of his com-
munity were far-reaching and beneficial. In
their family were three children: Mary E., the
wife of Fred Short, of Roxana township, Eaton
county, Michigan; Ambrose E., of this review;
and Ella E., the deceased wife of John E. Niles.
Ambrose E. Gallup is indebted to the district
school system for the early educational privi-
leges he enjoyed, while later he attended Al-
bion College, at Albion, Michigan. On putting
aside his text-books he concentrated his ener-
gies upon the work of the home farm and has
since continued in agricultural pursuits. He
purchased one hundred acres of land on section
35 and has improved the property by drains
and tiling, by carefully cultivating the fields and
by utilizing the most modern improved meth-
ods in all branches of his farm work. He is
thoroughly reliable and trustworthy in his busi-
ness transactions and his labors have brought
him a gratifying financial return. He is justly
regarded as a progressive citizen and one whose
efforts have been the source of his present pros-
perity. In politics he is a democrat but without
political aspiration for office. He belongs to
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in
which he has filled all of the chairs and he also
holds membership relations with the Knights
of Pythias, the Elks and the Eagles.
28
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Historical.
A HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
The past of Clinton county, one of the most
progressive and productive counties lying be-
tween the Great Lakes, is but a fragment of
the story of the great westward movement
which has reclaimed forests, redeemed deserts,
built cities, and by wonderful energy and re-
source, added state after state to the Empire
of the Stars and Stripes. Viewed in the broader
aspect, the life of Clinton county is but one
link in the great chain of advancement whose
ultimate forging was to bind the Atlantic to
the Pacific and finally distribute the wealth and
arts of the old world throughout the limitless
untrod tracts of the new, to develop the hidden
wealth garnered by nature's prudence for ages
unnumbered.
This simple narrative must be unpretentious;
our county can not be accurately portrayed as
having had a life of its own, independent and
self-containing. At one time within history's
range, fair Clinton was an unbounded, un-
known part of the great northwest ; again it lay
within the lines of the frontier; later it became
the granary and arsenal from which the army
of pioneers which has been continually recruit-
ing, took a fresh start in the endless campaign
of conquering the west. In recording this story
continual reference and allusion must be made
to this greater history.
No true history is a mere narrative of facts,
however, accumulated and arranged. The
history of Clinton county is the story of its
life; the exhibition of the vital historic forces
which have been active in its progress. To tell
of all the incidents, episodes and events which
might be laboriously gathered from record and
tradition would of itself be a profitless task,
unless those facts exhibited and disclosed the
civil and material progress of a people, and re-
vealed the principles and forces which have
actuated them.
When the restless, courageous pioneer from
New England or New York invaded un-
known Michigan and found the way la-
boriously to what is now Clinton county,
from the geographical standpoint what
sort of a place did he find; what barriers
had Nature reared to oppose him; what
had the climate in store for him; what avenues
had Nature provided for communicating with
the centers of wealth and manufacture; what
quality of a soil must he lay naked now covered
by a burden of forests; what had the ages
treasured within their rock-bound vaults to
which he might delve; what enemies lay am-
bushed along the sinuous paths of his march?
These questions must first be answered because
the real life and quality of a people, like the
strength and character of a man -can hardly
be estimated until something is known of the
struggle, the defeats and victories, which have
marred or marked the story.
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442
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.
Although fresh-water lakes are comparatively
scarce in Clinton, and although its rivers are
neither numerous nor large, nevertheless the
pioneer found a country full of swamps and
lowlands and often excessively wet. The Grand
river which has performed so important a part
in Michigan progress, intersects only the south-
western corner of the county. The Maple
river, now insignificant, crosses the county
fr6m Shiawassee, remains with us for a short
distance when it enters Gratiot in its north-
western course, finally returning to Clinton as
though it had forgotten something, blesses
Essex and Lebanon townships briefly and is
lost to us in Ionia county. The Looking Glass
river is more gracious to Clinton and traverses
the county from its eastern to its western line.
Although at the present time these streams are
little better than creeks, in the early days they
were of considerable magnitude and volume.
In those earlier days of Michigan's history as
a state, when the "internal improvement" idea
held sway, many promising projects were an-
nounced for making these streams navigable,
but all these schemes however well intended,
failed of realization, and could their origin-
ators attempted to navigate either of these rivers
now-a-days in a row-boat, their former dreams
would appear ludicrous to them. It may be
remarked, however, that these streams were
utilized to a valuable purpose in former days
for water-power — saw-mills and flour mills
being found along the banks of the Looking
Glass and Maple rivers, and today these struc-
tures may be frequently seen, desolate monu-
ments to the energy and necessities of the set-
tlers.
Considering the fact that Clinton county is
strictly inland and that its surface is generally
unusually level, the fact that it has but a few
streams and lakes is partially accounted for.
And it is also probable that the removal of
forests has had something to do in diminish-
ing the water supply in those streams it has.
Clinton County is far from being hilly. In
fact the surface can best be described as un-
dulating. In occasional sections this monotony
is broken by small areas of hilly country, some
parts of Bath, Victor and Lebanon townships
being examples. It may be noted in records of
the early surveys that "prairie lands" and
"marshes" were found. Victor is hilly m the
eastern portion; Watertown has a variety of
surface and is generally rolling; Lebanon is
varied by plains, bluff's and rolling uplands;
Eagle is unusually varied, especially towards
the Grand river, where the hills become abrupt
and terminate in bluffs. Generally speaking,
the level stretches are sufficiently varied to pre-
sent a picturesque landscape, promote artificial
drainage, but on the other hand, regular enough
to render use of farm machinery easy.
These sections of marshes were in the pioneer
days of considerable extent and of most dis-
couraging and forbidding aspect. In the days
of settlement these tracts were generally con-
sidered as utterly worthless and their presence
and acreage were some justification for the
opinions expressed by Michigan's early visit-
ors who reported to the authorities at Washing-
ton that the county was a great "morass." A
large portion of these malaria-breeding tracts
have in the process of drainage, natural and
artificial, and under cultivation, been reclaimed
and put upon a productive basis, but the original
conditions were discouraging. The Chandler
farm, one of Senator Zachariah Chandler's
projects, was an early experiment in dealing
with this land. The Chandler tract extended
over a large portion of sections 29, 30, 31 and
32 in Bath township and sections 25, 26 and
36 in Dewitt. Senator Chandler purchased of
the Agricultural College and others a tract of
3,160 acres known upon the surveyor's chart as
"swamp lands." Of this farm so-called, 500
acres wras marsh meadow, 600 acres tamarack
swamp and 800 acres of oak openings — up-
lands. The drainage, as is usual in such sec-
tions throughout the county, was a difficult
problem. By elaborate and expensive artificial
drainage, this project met with a measure of
success. As may be inferred, Bath township
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
443
had at least its share of swamp lands. So ex-
tensive were these tracts that the progress of
Bath was comparatively tardy. It is said that
the outlook was so gloomy and forbidding that
the earlier settlers engaged in hunting and agri-
culture was considered of secondary impor-
tance. For years the valuation of real and per-
sonal property in Bath, as fixed by the board
of supervisors, was much less than that of any
other township in the county. Olive once held
considerable waste lands within its borders;
DeWitt had a good share of swamps, especially
in the southwestern portion where tamarack
swamps abound. Greenbush once had thou-
sands of acres of swamp and marsh to deal
with. Settlers found the crossing of these low-
lands a perilous undertaking. Today large
areas of this land have been partially improved
and they have proved valuable for some pur-
poses, as pasture lands for instance. Waste
lands of Dallas has been reduced to a minimum.
Eastern and southwestern Bingham was also
marred by swampy areas which have by no
means been entirely and successfully drained.
However, the successful treatment of these
swamp lands has generally awaited the occu-
pation and clearing of the better tracts, and the
development of a more general and connected
system of drainage, so that even at this date,
many of these sections are as yet unfit for
cultivation altho' many acres of this land are
today under cultivation. As has been before
stated, the pioneer farmer found a country that
was generally wet and scarcely a section could
he locate that had no lowlands or marshes.
The settlers of Rochester Colony showed fore-
sight in locating the tract they did, as that
section of the county is and was among the best
as regards that characteristic. Some idea of
the magnitude of the task which confronted
the pioneer farmer may be gathered, when the
prevalence of artificial drains, ditches and tile
drains is noted. There is scarcely a farm in
the county that has not, at some date, been
ditched in some parts at least, and the cost
and expense that the farmers of the county have
been put to in making private drains and laying
tile drains, would be almost beyond credibility.
SURFACE AND SOIL.
The emigrant home-seeker found the county
quite heavily timbered. Oak, elm, beech and
maple, ash, tamarack, birch, cedar, black-wal-
nut, and occassionally a small tract of pine
were among the varieties he found. Heavily
timbered lands and timbered openings made up
the greater portion of the county. The greater
part of the timber growing in the county was
of necessity sacrificed by the settler in clearing
his farm. The timber destroyed by this
process of clearing by axe and flame would
today represent great wealth, but it had to be
put out of the way speedily and thoroughly.
Nowr and then a lumber mill was built, but
lumbering was not the object of the settlers:
agriculture was their future. Bengal was ex-
traordinary as to her forests, the township
being heavily covered with ash, basswood,
beech, elm and oak. Likewise Duplain was rich
in forests and many primitive saw-mills were
built along the banks of the Maple. Essex was
called the "hardwood township;" there is
scarcely a township that did not have forests
of the varieties mentioned. DeWitt, however,
was said to be an exception as to pine trees,
one being considered a curiosity, which was not
the fact elsewhere.
Neither had Clinton anything to offer to her
settlers in mineral deposits. In 1873 borings
were made for coal in Eagle township. One of
these borings showed the following section :
Drift, 8 feet.
Sand-rock, 23 feet.
Coal in this vein.
Fire Clay, 3 feet.
Light slate, 13 feet.
Black slate, 11 feet.
Sand rock, 2 feet.
Coal, 35 inches.
Sand-rock, 21 feet.
In 1878 at Ovid a vein of coal of 12 inches
was struck at fifty-eight feet, and in Duplain
at one hundred and sixty-seven feet, no coal
was found. In recent years small veins of
coal have been found in boring for wells, here
and there, but nothing of promise has ever been
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
discovered. The pioneer of Clinton must find
his wealth upon the surface; her rocks had
nothing in store for him. The soil, however,
was and is all that he could ask. The varieties
are sufficient to meet the requirements of general
farming. Sand, gravel, clay and loam abound,
with admixtures in endless proportions. DeWitt
has sand, gravel, and clay; the soil of Eagle is
somewhat sandy in sections; Essex possesses
an admixture of clay and gravelly loam with
alluvial deposits in lowland sections; Riley
offers a very productive clay loam; Water-
town has a sandy loam with a clay sub-soil ; but
all these varieties are to be found in every
township of the county in various proportions,
and with every shade of distinction.
Here then is the situation which confronted
our forefathers. This was not a particularly
inviting country at that time. Forests had to
be cleared away by axe and logging chain and
fire. Roads must be hewn through nameless
tracts; he found few rivers to utilize; no vein
of wealth to lay bare; he was leagues from the
center of civilization in an inland country
with no means of natural communication and
egress; areas of marsh and swamp lands sur-
rounded him, making his progress often more
laborious and engendering fevers to pester him.
The Indian had not yet been removed from his
native heritage by the diplomacy and hardy
courage of Lewis Cass. The wolf, bear and
panther had not as yet yielded their possession
of the forests and for years would dispute the
right of the settler to invade their domains.
Although today there is scarcely any unpro-
ductive land in Clinton county, this was not
true once.
Is it not true here, as always has been else-
where, that the high plane of life, socially,
civilly and commercially which is found in Clin-
ton today has arisen from the intrinsic strength
and intelligence of the men who went before
us and solved these problems in the wilderness,
rather than from the gifts that nature has be-
stowed? The struggle against these barriers
has helped to make manhod more manly and
noble, and American bred ambitions have made
a great county of happy and prosperous homes.
THE BARRIERS REMOVED.
Had the Detroit settlement been made by a
colony of nationality and character that founded
the New England institutions rather than by
a people who inherited and fostered no ambi-
tions and displayed no adaptability for institu-
tions of self-government, the history of Michi-
gan and of Clinton county might have been
much different. The reports of early travelers
as to Michigan's "dismal swamps" was not the
only deterrent influence which retarded the set-
tlement and development of the state. The
French occupants had, it is true, suffered the
burdens and restrictions of a succession of wars
and when the American government finally be-
came possessed of the Northwest Territory, the
condition of this people was extreme to the
point of degradation. The native complacency
of disposition, lack of initiative and invention,
habits of sociability which mark the life of the
habitant was illy adapted to invade the wilder-
ness beyond and add new civilization to the
dominion of Cadillac. These people were un-
able to provide for themselves and manifested
no ambitions beyond enjoyment of their ex-
clusive, isolated and toneless lives. After
American occupation, congress found it neces-
sary to make appropriations to aid these Michi-
gan French settlements and head off starvation.
On the other hand, besides lacking in the vigor
and pioneer enterprise, which was so promi-
nent a Yankee trait, these people were unable
to understand .the self-government spirit which
dominated the eastern sections. The demo-
cratic idea was foreign to both their nature and
traditions. Surely the country to the west and
north of Detroit could expect nothing from
these subjects of monarchial ideals, and Amer-
ican ideals and institutions realized but little
from a source so stagnant. Clinton county
must remain an unbroken wilderness until the
descendants of the Revolutionary fathers should
begin their aggressive westward march. Clin-
ton county, with other counties of Michigan,
owes much to the intelligence, . energy, and
courage of Lewis Cass, once governor of
Michigan territory, again secretary of war. It
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
445
was through his faithful efforts that the many
obstacles to emigration from the east to Michi-
gan were gradually surmounted until finally
steamers on the great lakes numbered among
their passengers families from New England
and New York, bound for the developing
northwest. It is recorded that in May, 1836,
ninety steamers reached Detroit loaded with
new settlers, land speculators and adventurers,
looking for western lands. Of this influx our
county received a direct benefit, although a few
years later the number of those who found
their way so far into the interior was much
greater. The rude roads leading through the
forests inward, began to be thronged with
wagons of immigrants.
As has been before indicated, the greater
portion of the life of Lewis Cass was spent in
efforts to Americanize Michigan. For years
Detroit under the governorship of La Motte
Cadillac, was all there was to Michigan. Al-
though the Jesuit Fathers had traversed the re-
gion of the great lakes for more than a century,
it was still "terra incognita." When Cass as-
sumed authority he appreciated the magnitude
of his task ; the Indians must be pacified and
their possessory rights extinguished by treaties.
The eastern idea of the character of Michigan
lands must be corrected ; the self-governing and
democratic, or rather the American system of
government, must be installed; lands must be
surveyed and opened to settlers; the baleful in-
fluence of the traders must be exterminated;
these were a few of the tasks which lay before
Michigan's statesman-warrior. Cass realized
that the only way by which Michigan could be
made a commonwealth was along the path of
immigration from New England and the east.
Settlers from those sections would bring with
them into the benighted northwest, energy,
thrift, American arts and manufactures, and
better than all, vigorous and wholesome ideas
of self-government. Thus it was that through
Cass's efforts, the great state of Michigan was
opened to the civilization planted years before
by the Pilgrim forefathers in rockbound New
England. And Clinton county owes its be-
ginnings to this career of laborious self-sacrifice,
directly.
THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT.
It was as late as 1832 that the first settler
reached Clinton, one Hiram Benedict es-
tablishing a trading post at what is now Maple
Rapids. In 1833 David Scott located a station
on the Looking Glass near the present site of De-
Witt. Gradually the settlers began to come
singly and in groups. They came from New
England, principally from Massachusetts, New
York, Pennsylvania. Many stopped in Wayne
and Oakland and Washtenaw counties, and
again found their way into Clinton. Many
emigrants from Germany and France and Ire-
land landed at Detroit in quest of homes, and
a number located in Clinton. As years rolled on
and Michigan became better known, the popu-
lation of the county increased marvelously and
thus this county drew upon almost every state
in the Union for its people.
Bearing in mind the kind of a race the set-
tlers of Clinton sprang from; the ideas which
had been their heritage; the future of the county
is assured and the tale of progress, in subduing
the barriers before mentioned can better be un-
derstood and appreciated. We have here a people
who believe in public education; therefore
schools will be made; who are of religious par-
entage and environment, so churches must be
built; who understand the function of "the
people" in self-government, so civil organiza-
tions were early instituted and law and order
prevailed, self-imposed and self -en forced. Thus
it is that community life began in Clinton.
EVIDENCES OF PRE-INDIAN OCCUPATION.
Clinton county is not without evidences of a
connection with the legendary pre-historic
mould-builders. In the eastern and north-
eastern portions of the county, many monu-
mental earthworks made by this unknown race
still exist with outlines of varied definiteness
remaining. It is doubtless true that although
not so numerous, other parts of the county are
marked by the customs of this interesting peo-
ple, were one able to look beyond the conceal-
ing effects of ages and the elements. Dense
forests, tamarack swamps, marshes, prairies and
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446
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
lowlands comprised the surface of our county
in those days when the Looking Glass river was
called by our Indian predecessors the "Wab-
wasin," and the Maple was designated by the
French travelers and traders the Du Plain
(Riviere Du Plain). Even that date seems
long ago and almost prehistoric and the physical
features of the county beyond imagination. But
even then, these silent suggestive relics of an
earlier race (and perhaps of a civilization long
antiquated) serve to impress upon the mind of
the observer the force of the idea that time is
long and that the life of our county as we are
able to record it, is but the most insignificant
fragment of the whole story whose pages are
largely covered in oblivion.
The territory comprised within the borders
of Ovid and Duplain townships exhibits the
most marked and clearly defined earthworks of
the Moundbuilders and of these the township
of Du Plain contains the larger number. Shia-
wassee county has also some very interesting
contributions in this connection. An earthwork
relic was visited by Mr. B. O. Williams as early
as 1829. Mr. Williams was one of the earliest
settlers of this section of Michigan, having with
his brother purchased lands at Che-boc-wa-ting,
or the Big Rapids of the Shiawassee river in
1833-
Mr. Williams described this relic or monu-
ment as "a mound discovered upon the bank
of the Shiawassee river near Newburg in Shia-
wassee county. It was nearly circular in form,
and consisted of a parapet inclosing an interior
space. It was surmounted by a ditch, and had
an opening or gateway facing the east, with de-
tached mounds fronting this entrance." Gener-
ally these mounds appear to have been made for
burial purposes, but the one described above
seems to have been a fortification.
In section number thirty-two in southeastern
Duplain may be seen the remains of probably
the largest of these mounds in Clinton county.
It is forty feet in length and five feet in
height. An oak tree over fourteen inches in
diameter was found growing from the side of
this earthwork by the earlier visitors. Several
smaller mounds have been noticed in the vicinity
of the one just described. Skulls and bones
of human beings have been unearthed in this
vicinity. A short distance from the group
above referred to, and on section number thirty-
three, is another group of mounds, which be-
fore civilization began to obliterate their out-
lines, were interesting objects of speculation.
Of' this group the largest is twenty-five feet
long, twenty feet wide and three feet in height.
Rows of inferior mounds lie adjacent to the
base of this larger one, while south of it has
been traced the form of a large, oblong earth-
work one and one-half feet high, twenty-two
feet in length and fourteen feet in width. An-
other in the neighborhood is circular in form
and twenty feet in diameter. On many oc-
casions human bones have been excavated from
these prehistoric graveyards and sepulchres. In
the northern part of Ovid township and in the
neighborhood of the section in Duplain before
mentioned as containing these earthworks, have
been found groups of mounds containing por-
tions of human skeletons. It is a matter of in-
terest to know that upon the top of one of these
mounds a venerable oak tree was found stand-
ing whose rings of growth numbered 143.
However, these monumental structures are fast
fading in definiteness of form by the obliter-
ating process of elements and cultivation and
in a few years, doubtless few traces will re-
main. Our earlier inhabitants evidently did
not view these landmarks of an unwritten
history of their locality with the sentimental
reverence which we of to-day might attach to
their presence.
However, these mounds have not ceased to
attract attention to this late date. Even now,
as newspaper report has it, these ancient earth-
works and burial mounds are being excavated
in Saginaw county. Indian skeletons found in
this vicinity are being sent to the Glasgow
Universities of Scotland for scientific research.
INDIAN TRADITIONS.
But years before surveyors under the au-
thority of the young government at Washing-
ton traversed with transit and compass the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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forest wilderness of which Clinton was then
a part, preparatory to opening the region to
settlers; even prior to that almost forgotten
time when French navigators and adventurers
ventured into the borders of the forbidding and
unknown area where Jesuit Fathers struggled
against heathen ignorance and customs and died
martyrs to their mission ; before those strenuous
days when Lewis Cass planned and labored for
the emancipation of Michigan in the northwest,
a history was being lived, and the foundation
for a story laid, whose pathetic and tragic in-
cidents interwoven with strife and slaughter,
led to the extermination of a people and the
breaking of a defense on behalf of the red men
against the great westward expansion of the
powerful young republic, which finally dis-
possessed the Indian of his Michigan.
The Chippewa nation were occupants and
original owners of the wilderness country pene-
trated by the Saginaw river and its tributaries.
Those tribes that controlled the Shiawassee
valley, and those of the Looking Glass and
Maple, were of the Saginaw division or branch
of the Ojibway or Chippewa nation. Those
bands that inhabited Shiawassee and Clinton
counties were often designated by traders ac-
cording to their location, but they were mem-
bers and descendants of the great tribe. A few
of the Ottawa tribe and a limited number of
Pottawattamies became allied in the course of
years with the Chippewas, but their number
was insignificant comparatively.
By the tradition of the Chippewas, the once
powerful Sauks held undisputed possession of
a great territory in Michigan, including the one
in question, in years prior to the invasion of
the Chippewas. The Chippewas, who lived in
the north country had long desired to possess
the territory thus occupied by the Sauks, until
finally a league and conspiracy was formed
with the northern Ottawas and the southern
Ottawas inhabiting then the southeastern part
of Michigan, against the Sauks, inspired by
the envy of the Chippewas.
In carrying out the invasion which had been
planned in council, the Ottawas marched from
the south while the confederates of the north
moved down Lake Huron, crossed Saginaw
bay. The Sauks at their central village near
the present site of the city of Saginaw were
taken by surprise and were wholly unprepared
to meet the preconcerted assault. The murderous
attack was feebly and ineffectively resisted. The
tomahawk and knife soon laid the warriors of
the once powerful Sauks low. Women and chil-
dren were not spared from slaughter. The in-
vaders pursued their cruel work to the limit,
pushing on to other settlements, slaying, de-
stroying and burning, spreading death and hor-
rible desolation. "Skull Island" in the Saginaw
was sought as a place of refuge by a few
fugitives but the bloodthirsty victors did not
pause in their cruel work of extermination until
even these were dead, sparing only a few
women.
While this slaughter was being perpetrated
upon the Saginaw Sauks, the Ottawas from
the south emulated their Chippewa allies in their
attack upon the villages in the Flint country.
The Shiawassee village shared the fate of the
others, the combined armies of the Chippewas
and Ottawas continuing their relentless work
until scarcely a remnant of the Sauk nation re-
mained to escape. This miserable campaign of
extermination was continued over the country,
along the Looking Glass and Maple river vil-
lages, so that Clinton county was a part of the
scene of the relentless, vindictive massacre.
The conquered territory had theretofore been
regarded by the Chippewas and other tribes on
the outside as a very desirable hunting ground.
This fact, together with the rivalry which had
four years been engendered between the Sauks
and their neighbors, accounts for the war waged
by the confederacy of Chippewas and Ottawas
against them. The subjugation of the Sauks
was terribly complete. For generations the
Chippewas and Ottawras held the conquered
wilderness as a common hunting ground.
Finally inspired by superstitious fears, the
county was deserted by them for a period until
finally the Chippewas returned to the scene of
their former conquest, and erected their villages
at favored points throughout the tract, until
the Saginaw, Chippewas became the undisputed
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
occupants of Clinton and other adjacent
counties. This story is the traditional account
of how the Chippewas became masters of the
Saginaw country.
After this final occupancy, the Chippewas
figured prominently in the history of Michi-
gan and the northwest. At the battle of the
m Thames in 1813 they figured desperately, but
the defeat of the Indian allies forever crushed
the warfare against the authority of the gov-
ernment, and the Chippewas returned to their
villages broken in spirit and dejected. After
the treaty of peace which ended hostilities at
that time, the Chippewas never again entered
the lists against the whites (or pale-faces).
THE INDIAN TRADERS ARRIVE.
The first of the whites to come in contact
with the Saginaw Chippewas, were fur trad-
ers of the French. Saginaw was the center of
this trade with the Saginaw Chippewas.
Bolieu and Tremble were the first traders who
established posts at Saginaw. Bolieu dealt
with the Indians along the Flint, Saginaw, Shia-
wassee, Looking Glass and Maple rivers. It is
thought that his post was once located on the
Shiawassee near the present site of Owosso,
then known as the "Big Rapids."
Traders Jacob Smith and Conrad Ten Eyck
founded posts at Saginaw before the opening
of the war of 181 2. The ravages of war and
the spread of hostilities among the Indians com-
pelled the traders to abandon their posts during
the war, but they subsequently returned, and
continued to deal with the broken Chippewas.
In 181 5 Louis Campau opened a trading post
at Saginaw. Later John B. Cushway, Gen.
Riley, Whitmore Knaggs, Baptiste Chochios
traded wTith the Indians of the Saginaw and
Flint valleys, and with those of the Shia-
wassee, Looking Glass and Maple river re-
gions. Cushway, Knaggs and Campau later
established posts in this territory, the first being
opened about 1820.
In 1826 either Cushway or George Campau
opened a trading post at the present site of the
village of Maple Rapids, on the south bank of
the Maple river. It was called the Cushway
post, however, as the Michigan legislature, in
1837, passed an act laying out a state road from
the center of Eaton county to "Cushway's trad-
ing post on the Maple river in the county of
Clinton. " Old settlers are of the opinion that
George Campau, who was a brother of Louis
Campau of the Saginaw post, succeeded Cush-
way at this point. John Johnson succeeded
Campau on the Maple and remained an in-
habitant of the county until his death in 1875.
THE INDIANS AND THE SETTLERS.
Near the site of the village of DeWitt in
Clinton county on the Looking Glass, as late
as 1 83 1, the Indian village of Wabwahnasupu
was inhabited by Chippewas. Few settlers
knew anything about this village which was
soon abandoned after the date mentioned. On
La Riviere Du Plain, named by the English
the Maple, was located at an early date the
capital village of Chief Makitoquet. Many of
the white settlers knew Chief Makitoquet and
his people, as this settlement continued to exist
for some time after the invasion of the whites.
Makitoquet's village was located on the north-
west quarter of section number three of Essex
township. His people occupied other village
and camping grounds westward along the
Maple. Makitoquet's lieutenant was Chief
Wintagonish who purchased land from the na-
tional government in Lebanon in 1837. Some
years later Wintagonish conveyed to Nan-way-
na-me, his niece, described as the daughter of
O'Gee Mahquay, the northeast one quarter of
the northeast one quarter of section fourteen of
Lebanon township. The chief signed, by mak-
ing the cross, as shown by the records, Liber
UD'' of deeds at page 216.
The Indians of the Clinton and Shiawassee
settlements were Saginaw Chippewas and were
scattered about in settlements, each having its
local chief. The invasion of the armies of the
Republic followed by demoralizing defeats of
the Indian confederates had broken the central
power of the great Indian nations. Hunting
occupied them principally although they culti-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
449
vated small open tracts rudely and raised corn,
potatoes, etc., in small quantities. It was their
custom to use the same patch of land season
after season for corn planting. Sugar-making
was one of their principal industries (if such
term may he used). In Clinton they utilized
the maple groves throughout the country.
South of the line between Clinton and Ing-
ham counties, once flourished an Indian settle-
ment under Chief Okemos, who was later
known to the Clinton settlers. This people,
although they were knowm as the Red Cedar
Indians, were also Chippewas. Clinton county
was a hunting ground of the Red Cedar tribe.
Chief Okemos had a career worthy of mention.
His birth was in Shiawassee somewhere about
1788 ; he took an active part in the war of 181 2
and participated in the Sandusky fight. This
fact he could never forget. On that occasion
Okemos, while acting with other Chippewa war-
riors, as a scout for the British, fell against a
company of American cavalry and received
wounds from sabres which all but ended his
usefulness. Okemos carried scars from sabre
wounds to his grave and never fully recovered
his strength and vigor. At the time of this
incident Okemos was not a chief. But as a
reward for his exhibition of bravery and en-
durance, he subsequently became the head of
the Red Cedar band. He obtained with other
Indians of the territory, a pardon from the
American government for the aid he had given
to its British enemies, and he then and there
buried his tomahawk. After the war had ended
Okemos and his Red Cedar band took up their
residence and made a village in Ingham county,
the station of Okemos remaining upon the map
as a reminder. The old chief was thoroughly
addicted to the use of "fire- water," and his
habits in this respect ultimately resulted in his
degradation. • Chief Okemos died on December
4, 1858, at his camp on the Looking Glass
river near DeWitt village. His body placed
in a rude coffin with his buck-horn handled
knife, pipe, hatchet, tobacco and provisions for
the journey to the "happy hunting grounds,"
was taken to an ancient Indian cemetery in
Ionia, and interred on the banks of the Grand
river.
Indian bands continued to visit different
points in Clinton county for years after it had
begun to be generally settled. In the village
of St. Johns they were frequent visitors, and
reappeared regularly. Indian trails remained
favorite avenues of travel across the country.
After Clinton began its separate existence,
the board of county commissioners and later
the board of supervisors, issued certificates to
persons who presented to them proof of having
slain a wolf or wolves, then a dreaded enemy
of the scattered settlers. These "wolf cer-
tificates" were often issued to Indians as the
early county records show. The following
names appear on the county records as recipients
of wolf-bounty: No-wab-a-ba, Ash-ha-be, San-
lo-de, Shant-comagin, Me-we-zan, Wa-ba-gun-
ish-corn, An-gun-gno-ung, E-be-no-sha, Bish-
she-mony, Pash-a-ton, Bosh-ka-zick, Parmasc-
quay, Coo-cosh, and finally in 1845, "An
Indian."
It is recalled by settlers that in collecting
wolf bounty from the county treasury, many de-
ceptions were practiced by the more unscrupu-
lous, that one wolf pelt often served for the
issue of more than one certificate. Some "hunt-
ers" artfully carried their wrolf pelts from
county to county and were more effective in
exterminating the county funds than in ex-
terminating wolves.
GOVERNOR LEWIS CASS SUCCEEDS.
Reference has been made heretofore of the
part that Lewis Cass took in opening the in-
terior of Michigan to civilization, and to the
diplomatic methods he employed in the con-
duct of his office. Let us pause for a moment
and review the course of events which ulti-
mately led to a peaceful solution of the ques-
tion of Indian possessory rights in Michigan.
The Washington government has invariably
dealt with the Indian as having a certain in-
dependence— an independent organized govern-
ment, and as owning by right possessory inter-
ests in the lands and territories occupied by him.
Consistently with this attitude, our national
government has always acquired exclusive
rights to territory occupied by the Indians by
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
treaties made by ambassadors or authorized
commissioners sitting in open council with the
chiefs and leaders of the tribe or nation con-
cerned.
The history of the relations between our na-
tional government and the Indian tribes, is told
in a succession of treaties, and of these Michi-
gan was often a subject for diplomatic adjust-
ment.
When we start out to deal with this phase
of our history, we must keep in mind the fact
that according to the principle of fair dealing
early adopted by the Washington government,
the Chippewa, Pottawattamie and Ottawa
Indians, who occupied Michigan, had possessory
rights and interests which could be conveyed
and transferred only by voluntary grant made
by the Indians.
In 1795 General Anthony Wayne, acting in
behalf of the United States, met with the chiefs
of the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Pottawattamie
and other interested tribes, at Greenville, Ohio,
where a treaty was concluded wherein the In-
dians ceded to the United States as follows :
"The post of Detroit and all the lands to the
north, the west, and the south of it of which
the Indian title has been extinguished by gifts
or grants to the French or English govern-
ments, and so much more land to be annexed
to the district of Detroit as shall be compre-
hended between the river Rosine (Raisin) on
the south; lake St. Clair on the north, and a
line, the general course of which shall be six
miles distant from the west end of lake Erie
and Detroit river." In consideration for the
above cession, the United States confirmed to
the Indians practically all their claims to Michi-
gan territory. The language of the treaty was
as follows: "The United States relinquished
their claims to all other Indian lands north-
ward of the river Ohio, eastward of the Mis-
sissippi and westward and southward of the
Great Lakes and the waters uniting them, ac-
cording to the boundary agreed on between the
United States and the king of Great Britain in
the peace made between them in the year 1783."
* * * * "the Indian tribes who have a right
to those lands (described above) are quietly to
enjoy them; hunting, planting and dwelling
thereon as long as they shall please, without
any molestation from the United States; but
when these tribes, or any of them, shall be dis-
posed to sell their lands or any part of them,
they are to be sold only to the United States;
and until such sale the United States will pro-
tect the said Indian tribes in the quiet enjoy-
ment of their lands against all citizens of the
United States, and against all other white per-
sons who intrude upon the same."
It is evident that in this treaty the United
States confirmed in their Indian occupants, the
rights of the Indian tribes who were parties
thereto in the territory of Michigan to per-
petually and peacefully enjoy the same until
such time as they should voluntarily convey and
grant the same to the United States. Clinton
county passed in this conveyance and quit-claim.
It is worthy of our attention to note how
"the American diplomacy actuated in the main
by sound judgment and fair dealing, gradually
acquired the territory embraced within Michi-
gan borders, from the Indian possessors, whose
rights -were recognized so unequivocally in the
treaty of 1795.
By the treaty of Detroit of date November
17, 1807, the United States acquired by pur-
chase a large tract of southeastern Michigan.
The United States was represented "by William
Hull, governor of the territory of Michigan,
superintendent of Indian affairs and sole com-
missioner of the United States to conclude and
sign a treaty or treaties with the several na-
tions of Indians northwest of the river Ohio,
on the one part, and the sachems, chiefs and
warriors of the Ottaway, Chippeway, Wyan-
dotte and Pottawattamie nations of Indians, on
the other part."
By the terms of this treaty in general, the
Indians released to the United States their
claim upon a large section of country
whose western boundary was afterwards known
as "The Indian Boundary Line," leaving the
Clinton county country still within the terms
of the General Wayne treaty before quoted. In
payment for this territory the United States
agreed to pay to the Chippewa and Ottawa
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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tribes each the sum of $3,333-33. said sum to
be payable in money, goods, domestic animals
and agricultural implements, at the discretion
of Governor Hull; the Wyandotte and Potta-
wattamie tribes respectively received the sum
of $1,666.66. In addition to the above sums
the Ottawas and Chippewas were each to re-
ceive an annuity of $2,000.00 and the other two
tribes each an annuity of $1*000.00. It is in-
teresting to note that by this treaty the Chip-
pewas and Ottawas were to toe supplied with a
blacksmith for a period of ten years.
During the war of 181 2, these tribes by their
hostility to the Americans, were deemed to
have forfeited all their rights, privileges and
possessions held by them prior to the war, but
several treaties were subsequently entered into,
restoring to them these forfeited rights on Sep-
tember 8, 181 5.
The treaty in which we are most directly
concerned was concluded in 18 19. The in-
cidents of this cession are remarkably interest-
ing, and the account given in the Clinton
County History of 1880 can not be improved
upon and is given at length below :
"The treaty by which the Indian owners
ceded to the United States a large scope of ter-
ritory including all the present county of Clin-
ton and all that part of Shiawassee not em-
braced in the Detroit cession of 1807, was held
at Saginaw, in September, 18 19, by Gen. Lewis
Cass, governor of Michigan and ex officio
Indian commissioner, with the chiefs and head
men of the Chippewa tribe of the lower penin-
sula. Soon after the war of 1812-15, the at-
tention of the westbound emigrants from the
old states began to be strongly directed towards
Michigan territory, and it became evident to
the clear mind of Governor Cass that, broad
as was the domain acquired by the treaties of
1795 and 1807, it would soon be found too
narrow to receive the immigration which had
already begun to spread westward and north-
ward from Detroit. He therefore at once set
about the task of further securing cessions from
the natives, and having laid his plans before the
government, and received its sanction with au-
thority to proceed in the matter, he convened
the chiefs in council as above mentioned.
The governor, accompanied by quite a nu-
merous retinue, composed of his secretaries,
Robert A. Forsyth (who was also acting com-
missioner), John L. Leib and D. G. Whitney,
with several other persons, set out from Detroit
on horseback on the 7th day of September, and
proceeding northwardly through the woods and
openings by way of Royal Oak, Pontiac, Silver
Lake, Grand Blanc, and the Grand Traverse
of the Flint river (now Flint city), arrived at
the Saginaw treaty-ground on the 10th. Two
small vessels, — a sloop and a schooner, — which
had left Detroit a few days before, had already
arrived, and lay moored in the river. They
were laden wTith subsistence stores, silver coin
to be used in payment of the lands expected to
be ceded, and goods intended for Indian pres-
ents; and they brought also a company of the
Third United States infantry, under command
of Capt. C. L. Cass (a brother of the governor),
who had disembarked his command, and en-
camped it on the bank of the stream. The
presence of these troops was thought to be
necessary, in view of the possibility of an at-
tempt at violence by some of the bands.
On his arrival, General Cass found a large
number of Indians assembled, but yet the at-
tendance was not as numerous as he had ex-
pected. Having found, upon inquiry, that a
number of the more remote bands were un-
represented, he dispatched runners to the vil-
lages on the Huron (now Cass), Flint, Shia-
wassee, Mishtegayock, Maple and Tittabawas-
see rivers, to give further notification to the
chiefs and to urge them to come in and join
in the council.
This pressing invitation had the desired
efifect, and nearly all the absentee chiefs and
warriors, with their squaws and pappooses
made haste to join their red brethren at the
rendezvous.
When all had come in, and the preparations
were complete the council was opened, in a
large house (or more properly a bower, as its
covering composed principally of the branches
of trees), which had been built for the oc-
casion, on the bank of the Saginaw, by Louis
Campau, the trader, by direction of General
Cass. All around this structure, and crowding
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
closely up to the line which they were not
allowed to enter, were squaws and pappooses
from every band of the Saginaw Chippewa
tribe, eager to look upon the ceremonies which
were little less than mysterious to them. Next
in their front — and inside the leafy "council-
house" — were the young men and warriors,
while within their circle, seated on the trunks
of trees which had been placed there for that
purpose, were the chiefs and sagamores, those
of the highest rank being clustered round a low
platform of hewn logs, on which were seated
Gen. Cass, and his secretaries, — Forsyth, Leib
and Whitney, — Capt. Cass and Lieut. John
Peacock, of the Third Infantry, Capt. Chester
Root, of the United States artillery, Whitmore
Knaggs (Indian trader, sub-agent, and principal
interpreter), and some others. Other inter-
preters present were Louis Beaufait, John Hur-
son, William Tuckey, and Henry Connor, who
was known among the Indians as Wabaskin-
debay, or "White Hair." Among the traders
who made themselves officious on the occasion
were Louis and Antoine Campau, Jacob Smith
and Archibald Lyons, who was afterwards
drowned in the Tittabawassee while in the em-
ploy of G. D. and E. S. Williams at their sta-
tion near where Midland city now stands.
Gen. Cass opened the council by an address to
the Indians, delivered through his interpreters.
He told them that the great father (the Presi-
dent) earnestly desired to preserve and perpetu-
ate the peace which had been established between
their tribes and the government; that he had the
welfare of his red children at heart, and wished
to see them gradually change their mode of life
by depending more on the pursuits of agri-
culture and less on hunting and fishing, which
would grow more and more precarious year by
year because of the advance of white immigra-
tion which was moving restlessly towards them,
and in a little time their streams would become
less prolific, and their game would be driven
to more remote hunting grounds. He ex-
plained to them that the government, wishing
to purchase their lands for the use of white
settlers, would pay them a generous price ; and
that other lands, ample in extent, and as fertile
as these, would be set apart for the perpetual
use of themselves and their children.
The original object of Gen. Cass was not
only to induce the Chippewas to cede their lands,
but also to obtain from them an agreement to
remove from the peninsula and locate them-
selves on tracts to be selected for them west of
Lake Michigan, or perhaps beyond the Mis-
sissippi. The object was made apparent by the
tenor of his opening speech, and it roused the
opposition and resentment of the chiefs to such
a degree as to threaten a suspension of all
negotiations. The first Indian who spoke in
reply to the governor was Kishkawko, the prin-
cipal chief of the Saginaws. He spoke in a
violent and angry manner against the cession
of any of their lands and advised the breaking
up of the council. He was, however, consider-
ably under the influence of liquor at the time,
and on this account his harangue had less effect
than that of Ogemawkeketo (a name meaning
"chief speaker"), who immediately followed
Kishkawko in a speech which was far less
violent, but quite as uncompromising in its
opposition to the objects of Gen. Cass. Mishen-
anonequet and other chiefs spoke in nearly the
same vein, and when the council was ended for
the day the prospects of the conclusion of a
treaty was far from favorable. At the close,
Gen. Cass, after having told the chiefs in a
friendly manner to go to their wigwams "and
smoke and talk the matter over together," re-
tired with his secretaries to their quarters in
a state of disappointment and great anxiety in
view of the not improbable failure of the
negotiations. There wTas one favorable circum-
stance, however: the chief, Kishkawko, had
reached a state of helpless intoxication, and he
remained in that condition for the following
eight or ten days, not again making his ap-
pearance until all the terms of the treaty had
been agreed on.
The Indians had retired sullen and almost re-
bellious, and no other session of the council was
held for several days. But during that time
powerful influences in favor of the treaty had
been brought to bear on them by Jacob Smith
and other traders, who wished, for private rea-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
453
sons of their own, to see the sale consummated.
The trader Smith, in particular, was in favor
with old Neome and a great number of the other
chiefs, and his influence over them was great.
He was favorable to the cession, because in it
he expected to (and eventually did) secure a
number of choice reservations of the land for
his children. Archibald Lyons was another
who expected (and received) a similar favor
for his half-breed daughter Elizabeth. Several
other traders, (among whom a principal one
was Louis Campau) stood well in the confidence
of the Chippewas, and all these exerted their
powers of persuasion to induce the Indians to
make the treaty, in the hope in receiving cer-
tain arrearages due to them out of the silver
coin which would be paid in consideration of
the cession.
Gen. Cass, although he was Governor of
Michigan and commissioner of Indian affairs,
and was backed by the military force of the
United States, did not wield one-half the
power over the savages which was exercised
by the traders; but the latter used theirs so
effectually that at the end of a few days they
had nearly overcome the opposition. Having
accomplished this result, they notified Gen.
% Cass (who had all the while been aware of the
means that were being employed), and he there-
upon reconvened the chiefs and warriors in the
council-house.
At this second council there was still a con-
siderable amount of discussion among the
chiefs, but as the principal difficulty had already
been surmounted by the arguments and per-
suasions of the traders, the scenes of the pre-
vious meeting were not re-enacted here. All the
circumstances were now favorable for the con-
clusion of a treaty. The most determined op-
ponent, Kishkawko, was absent (not yet hav-
ing recovered from his debauch), and the chief
speaker, Ogemawkeketo, had been won over by
the traders. Gen. Cass, having found that the
Indians were bitterly hostile to the plan for
removing them beyond Lake Michigan, and
that if the measure were insisted on, it would
most probably result in the failure of the treaty,
had ceased to press the proposition, and sub-
stituted for it the plan of granting tribal and
individual reservations within the tract to be,
ceded. These circumstances had wrought such
a favorable change in the feelings of the chiefs
that the parties had little difficulty in agreeing
on the terms of a treaty, which was virtually
concluded at this sitting; all that remained to
be done being to engross it in due form and
to affix to it the signatures of the commis-
sioner, the chiefs and the witnesses.
On the following day (September 24th), the
third and last session of the council was held,
and the treaty was formally signed. The
Indian attendance was much larger at this than
either of the previous councils, being estimated
at nearly two thousand chiefs and warriors;
while a still greater number of women and chil-
dren were crowded together on the outskirts
of the assemblage. The ceremony of signing
the treaty was made as imposing as possible.
The first name written upon the document was,
of course, that of Lewis Cass, United States
Indian Commissioner, and this was followed
by the totems of one hundred and fourteen
Chippewa and Ottawa chiefs. Old Kishkawko
had finally come out of his prolonged trance and
was present — somewhat sullen, but very quiet
and dignified — and affixed his mark to the
treaty with those of the other chiefs. The
execution of the treaty was witnessed by Act-
ing Commissioner R. A. Forsythe; the gov-
ernor's secretaries, Leib and Whitney; Capts.
Cass and Root and Lieut. Peacock ; Gabriel God-
frey, sub-agent, the interpreters Knaggs, Beau-
f ait, Hurson and Tuckey ; John Hill, army con-
tractor Henry I. Hunt, Barney Campau, Wil-
liam Keith, V. S. Ryley, J. Whipple, A. E.
Lacock, John Smyth, B. Head, Richard Smyth,
Louis Dequindre, and Conrad Ten Eyck.
After the signing a large table was spread
before the commissioners, and on this table were
placed great piles of silver half-dollars, which
under the direction of Gen. Cass, were to be
paid out to the representatives of the several
bands. This part of the ceremony was watched
with great interest by both chiefs and traders,
but for somewhat different reasons. Many of
the chiefs were indebted in considerable sums
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
to the trader Louis Campau, who had received
their promise that when the payment was made
to them their claim should be liquidated at least
to the amount of fifteen hundred dollars. He
had already notified Gen. Cass of this agree-
ment, and was now anxiously waiting, hoping
to receive the money from the commissioner
without having it pass through Indian hands
at all. But three of the other traders present
were not pleased at the prospect of having so
considerable a part of the Indians' money ap-
propriated to the payment of their old debts.
One of these three was Jacob Smith, who at
once set about the task of persuading the wily
and treacherous Kishkawko and some of the
other chiefs to demand that the entire sum due
them should be paid to the Indians, to be ap-
plied by them as they saw fit. This diplomacy
was so entirely successful that when the com-
missioner explained to the chiefs that Campau
was expecting to receive his dues, and asked if
they consented to the arrangement, they replied
that they were his children, under his protec-
tion, and expected that he would pay the money
into their hands. The general could not dis-
regard their expressed wishes in this particu-
lar, and he therefore directed that the money
be paid to them, which was accordingly done
by the secretaries, much to the disgust of Cam-
pau, who, seeing that his money was lost, and
believing Smith to be the cause of his discom-
fiture, leaped from the platform where he had
been standing, and struck the latter two stun-
ning blows in the face. Quick as lightning
Smith turned on his assailant, but Henry Con-
nor and Louis Beaufait interposed between the
belligerents and stopped the fight.
After the payments had been made, Gen.
Cass ordered five barrels of government whiskey
to be opened, and the liquor to be dealt out to
the Indians. Upon seeing this, Campau, still
filled with wrath at the treatment he had re-
ceived, and blaming the general almost as much
as Smith for it, ordered up ten barrels of his
own whiskey, knocked in the heads, and posted
two men with dippers to supply the Indians as
they came up. Of course the scene of intoxi-
cation was indescribable. At about ten o'clock,
the governor having become thoroughly
alarmed at the infernal orgies that surrounded
the trading-house in which he was quartered,
sent his private secretary, Forsyth, with orders
to Campau to shut off the supply of liquor; but
the trader only deigned the grim reply "Gen.
Cass commenced it himself." Then a platoon
of Capt. Cass' company was detailed to guard
the store-house. Soon after they had been
posted a new arrival of Indians demanded
whiskey, and upon being refused and held at
bay, rushed on the guard to force an entrance,
during which attempt one of them received a
bayonet wound in the leg. In an instant the
war-whoop was sounded, and in a few minutes
more swarms of savages, infuriated with liquor,
and tomahawk in hand came rushing towards
the store. "Stop the liquor, Louis!" screamed
the governor of Michigan Territory, as he
stood in the door of his quarters with a night-
cap on his head. "We shall all be murdered;
Stop the liquor, I say!" "Certainment, mon
general," replied Campau, "but you begun it
and you allowed Smith to rob me. I'll keep
you safe, but remember you commenced it,
mon general." He appeared to think that the
satisfaction of thoroughly frightening Gen.
Cass for having allowed Jacob Smith to rob
him, as he said, was cheaply enough purchased
by the expenditure of ten barrels of whiskey.
"I lost my whiskey and my money," he after-
wards remarked, "But I had good revenge on
Cass."
By the combined efforts of the interpreters
and traders, the Indians were at length pacified,
and they retired to their wigwams to sleep off
the effects of their intoxication. After they
had entirely recovered from their debauch they
became perfectly friendly and tractable, and
even after the commissioner and his staff of
assistants had departed for Detroit, they sent
the orator in chief, Washmenondequet, to over-
take him, and express to him their pleasure and
satisfaction at the result of the council.
By the terms of this treaty, the Indians ceded
to the United States an area of territory esti-
mated at about six millions of acres; in con-
sideration of which cession, the government
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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agreed to pay to the Chippewa nation annually,
forever, the sum of one thousand dollars, in
silver coin, and also, that all annuities to be
paid to them in pursuance of the stipulations of
previous treaties should thereafter be paid in
silver. The terms of the treaty of Greenville
(in 1795) giving the Indians the right to hunt
and fish at will upon the ceded lands, so long as
they remained the property of the United
States, were applied to this treaty. They were
also to be permitted to make sugar wherever
they chose upon the same lands and during the
same period, but without any unnecessary waste
of trees. The boundaries of the cession, as de-
scribed in the treaty, were as follows : "Begin-
ning at a point in the present Indian boundary
line (identical with the principal meridian of
the state) which runs due north from the
mouth of the great Auglaize river, six miles
south of the place where the base line, so-called,
intersects the same; thence west sixty miles;
thence in a direct line to the head of Thunder
Bay river ; thence down the same, following the
courses thereof, to the mouth; thence northeast
to the boundary line between the United States
and the British province of Upper Canada;
thence with the same to a line established by
the treaty of Detroit in 1807; and thence with
said line to the place of beginning."
After various subsequent treaties in which
the once powerful Chippewas agreed to remove
from Michigan, a time was finally settled upon
when the Saginaw Chippewas were to leave the
lower peninsula of Michigan to their pale-faced
brothers. That time was January, 1842. Be-
fore the time arrived, the ravages of small-pox
had practically exterminated the nation, and the
disheartened remnant of a once proud people
became scattered and lost to history as a tribe.
The Pottawattamies were in 1838 under the
orders of the government, forcibly sent to the
west, escorted by United States troops, and the
wholesale deputation being practically completed
two years later when Chief Muckemoot, with a
few of his people was captured by General
Brady, collected at Owosso, and started in a
melancholy procession for the hunting grounds
beyond the Mississippi.
29
THE INDIAN TRAILS AND EARLY ROADS.
Something has been said of the demoralized
condition of Michigan affairs after the British-
American war of 18 1 2. Indian warfare and
British occupation had wrought desolation
throughout Michigan settlements. For a time
the improvident Indian allies of the British had
drawn upon the store-houses of the king, but
after his armies had suffered defeat, this source
of succor and supply was closed, and the In-
dians themselves knocked at the doors of con-
gress for assistance. Under the Cass adminis-
tration of Michigan affairs, conditions steadily
improved, until 18 18, when the industrial in-
terests of the territory began to show signs of
responding to the efforts of her statesman.
From thence the advance was vigorous and the
future full of golden promise. The one great
necessity was a population sufficient to open
the interior and develop its resources. High-
ways were needed through the wilderness along
which the home-seekers from New York and
New England could pass to the fertile lands of
the west. Cass never wavering in his devotion
to Michigan, urged the building of roads by
acts of congress, as internal improvements, and
appropriations were accordingly made for such
purposes.
When the pioneer, wending his way through
forests, over rivers, around swamps and
morasses, finally reached the spot he had se-
lected for his home, he had made a trail for
others to follow. In this' manner settlements
grew and more or less defined routes of travel
were established. Often the well-worn Indian
trails were utilized by settlers, as these routes
were usually favorably chosen. When the set-
tler, or a band of settlers, opened through the
wilderness of forests a wagon road, discovered
and marked routes, avoiding marshes and
swamps, constructed rude bridges across creeks,
laid causeways across the lowlands, cleared
rivers at fording places, they began the great
work of internal improvement which has been
so instrumental in developing the country of
the Great Lakes.
The first highways were the Indian trails,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
winding thro' forests, connecting villages and
trading-posts, and crossing each other, so as
to form a net-work of irregular sinuous paths
ramifying in every direction through the in-
terior. But a few of the more important of
these will be mentioned. The Saginaw and
Grand River trail came from the Saginaw coun-
try to the great bend in the Maple river in Gra-
tiot county and from there followed the course
of the Maple through Clinton and terminated at
the Gensereau trading-post on the Grand river
in Ionia county. The Grand River trail fol-
lowed the north side of the Looking Glass river
from its junction with the Grand in Ionia,
through southern Clinton, through DeWitt
village to Laingsburg, and continued from there
through Indian villages in Shiawassee, Genesee
and Oakland, ultimately connecting Clinton
county with Pontiac and Detroit. Another
trail led through central Clinton from Maple
Rapids to the present site of DeWitt village,
then Scott's tavern, crossing the Grand River
trail and the Looking Glass, and was lost in
Ingham county. There were many other
trails and paths by which Indians, prospectors,
settlers and traders traveled through various
parts of the county, and many of the older
residents of the county recollect their existence
and use. It is true that these trails were ex-
tensively used by settlers as roads to and from
their settlements.
It is said that when Richard Godfrey came
from Oakland county in 1828, by way of
southern Genesee to Shiawassee, to open a trad-
ing post, the wagon which carried his merchan-
dise was the first to enter the interior of the
Shiawassee-Clinton tract. In 1833 a wagon
road was opened from Kopenicorning, an In-
dian village of the Fisher Tribe of the Saginaw
Chippewas, located in northwestern part of
Oakland county, to the Williams trading post
in Shiawassee, through the southern part of
Genesee. This task was undertaken by Alfred
L. and Benjamin O. Williams, the founders of
the Williams trading post, with the assistance of
settlers along the line. The "Pontiac and
Grand River road" was one of the most promi-
nent of these primitive highways. This route
lay from Pontiac to Ionia and crossed Clinton
county from its eastern to western line. Its
course ran as follows : From Pontiac west-
ward in Oakland, to "Hillman's Tavern" in
Tyrone township of Livingston, thence through
Shiawassee, striking Byron, Burns, Fremont,
Hartwellville and Laingsburg; into Clinton
through DeWitt and Wacousta, terminating by
way of Portland, in Lyons, county of Ionia,
Among the earliest travelers over this road
were the pioneers who were brought by Judge
Samuel W. Dexter from New York to colonize
the Dexter tract in Ionia county. This party
consisted of sixty-three persons who passed into
the Clinton interior in May of 1833. This
company of pioneers was a typical settlers'
colony, who experienced severe hardships in
reaching the end of their voyage. They traveled
by wagons, carrying personal property, swine,
cows, and oxen with them to aid in founding
newr homes. These people had difficulty in se-
curing the services of a guide acquainted with
besetting conditions. Benjamin O. Williams,
the Shiawassee trader, gives the following ac-
count of the journey through Clinton, which
very vividly suggests what the primitive con-
ditions of the country were in 1833 :
"Having in vain tried to get Beaubien to
pilot them, Messrs. Dexter, Yeomans and
Winan came to us for help. I left our planting,
taking my blankets and a small tent, and in six
days landed them at Ionia, looking out the route
and directing them where the road was to be.
This was the first real colonizing party we had
ever seen — myself having never been farther
than (the Indian village of) DeWitt. I then
induced Mackatapenace (Blackbird), son of
Kishkawko, the usurping chief of the Saginaws,
to pilot us past Muskrat creek, and from there
proceeded with the party. At that point, a son
of Mr. and Mrs. Dexter, a child about two
years old, died of scarlet fever. We buried the
child by torch and candle-light in a box im-
provised by the party. The road we opened
was next year followed by others, and was sub-
stantially the present Grand River road through
Shiawassee and Clinton counties and was
traveled for many years after."
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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Subsequent writers have, in commenting
upon the above account of the route traveled
by the Dexter colony, shown that westward
from DeWitt, the road followed was not
identical with the Pontiac and Grand River
road, but that from DeWitt village, they
traveled in a northwestern direction through
what are now Riley, Bengal and Dallas town-
ships. The infant child of Judge Dexter was
buried upon the farm of Judge Cortland Hill
in section number thirty-one of Bengal. The
old trail from DeWitt village in Clinton, to
Lyons in Ionia, was for years thereafter, known
as the "Dexter Trail."
This brief narrative will serve to illustrate
by what means and under what circumstances
internal improvements began to be instituted,
and what rapid strides have actually been made
to the present from such meagre and discour-
aging beginnings.
However, the Pontiac and Grand River route
was not opened through Clinton until July,
1854. The state of Michigan took a hand in
it in 1844 when an act was passed by the
legislature providing for the establishment and
improvement of the Pontiac and Grand River
route along the line hereinbefore described. In
subsequent years additional and amendatory
steps were taken by the state, and provision
made for funds to be used in making the route
passable throughout. This road, as finally es-
tablished, has remained an important thorough-
fare through southern Clinton to the present.
As a matter of passing interest, it may be
well to refer to the "Grand River Turnpike"
in this connection. While Michigan was a ter-
ritory in 1832, congress passed an act provid-
ing for the survey and opening of a road from '
Detroit through Shiawassee (now Livingston)
county, to the mouth of the Grand river. The
act was justified as having for one of its ob-
jects the establishment of a military road. In
the years 1833 and 1834 $2,500.00 was used
in extending this road ten miles from Detroit;
in 1835 congress appropriated $25,000.00 in
opening the road, building bridges across rivers,
including the south branch of the Shiawassee
and the Cedar river. In 1841, the State of
Michigan took up the task for itself and began
by appropriating funds for this purpose. After
a considerable expenditure, the Grand River
turnpike was finally opened to travel. For
some time it served as a commercial highway
from the inland sections of Clinton county to
the eastern markets of Pontiac and Detroit, de-
clining in usefulness when the railroads found
their way to the interior. This route first
strikes Clinton at a point in southeast Water-
town and continues in a northwestern direction
through Watertown and Eagle townships.
The first legislature of the state (session of
1835-6) enacted several measures providing for
the opening of routes from Pontiac in Oakland,
westward. A perusal of these acts will readily
disclose why the state fathers provided for state
roads with such facility, as the majority of
these acts contained clauses, in substance as
follows : "In laying out and establishing the
roads, or any of the roads named, the state
shall not be liable for the expenses or damages
incurred thereby."
THE STATE OF MICHIGAN PLANS HIGHWAYS.
Among these projected highways was "A
state road from Pontiac, in the county of Oak-
land, on the most direct and eligible route, to
the village of Brooklyn in the county of Clin-
ton, and thence to the seat of justice in said
county." Another was to run from Pontiac to
the county seat of Ionia county, through Clin-
ton; a third route lay from Pontiac to the mouth
of the Looking Glass, with a terminus at De-
Witt village in Clinton. These proposed routes
left nothing to be wished by Clinton by way of
highway connections with Pontiac. As these
routes were suggested to the legislature by the
petitions of the settlers, themselves, it may be
safely inferred that Clinton county trade was
largely with Pontiac and Detroit.
The second legislature of 1837, supplemented
the enterprise of the first in the road-making
line, by providing for laying out and establish-
ing no less than six different state roads cross-
ing Clinton and Shiawassee counties.
It will be seen from this brief survey, that
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
the first of the so-called "internal improve-
ments," in the Clinton country, were instituted
by the first settlers themselves, under the spur
of a great necessity; that these early enterprises
were undertaken for private and personal ob-
jects. That later, while Michigan administra-
tion was directly managed by the Washington
government, according to acts of congress, the
work of opening the interior of Clinton was
undertaken by the national government as a
matter of public enterprise, and that appropria-
tions were made by congress and funds raised
by various methods for carrying on these public
works. That this undertaking met with varied
degrees of success, in general the results being
of doubtful value, and in the majority of cases,
the work was incomplete and left unfinished.
While the state of Michigan was in its in-
fancy, the "internal improvement" policy
gained a remarkably strong foothold in Michi-
gan's administration, and the legislature in its
zeal often went to almost ludicrous extremes in
that direction. State highways were surveyed
on the statute books, plank-roads planned and
corporations provided for; the small and in-
significant streams and water-courses were in-
nocent objects of extensive navigation projects.
Out of the mass of legislative enactment along
this line, very little ever materialized, but the
force lay in the idea which was prevalent and in
later years worked itself out in more practical
plans, and beneficial results were in the end
achieved. Among these was a road from the
county seat of Eaton, to Cushway's trading
post on the Maple river, before referred to;
another was to connect DeWitt village in Clin-
ton, to PeShimnecon in Ionia.
In 1838 the establishment of a state road
was authorized from Rochester colony in Clin-
ton to the Ionia county seat; and in 1839
another was provided for to connect Owosso
village in Shiawassee with Rochester colony in
Clinton. After this, plank-road and railroad
corporations held the attention of the state
fathers. However, the establishment of the
state capital at Lansing in 1847 was followed
by more road legislation. In 1848 six thousand
acres of state lands were appropriated for "in-
ternal improvement" purposes, to be carried out
in Clinton county. Three thousand acres were
devoted to the laying out of a road from the
village of DeWitt to the village of Mapleton in
Duplain township; one thousand acres for im-
proving the road beyond Mapleton to section
twenty-five in Essex township, and from there
the route extending to the center of Greenbush ;
the two thousand remaining acres for laying
out and improving a road from DeWitt village
to Lyons in Ionia, via the German settlement
in Westphalia.
Among the many roads "laid out" by the
legislatures of a later day, is the State road
known as the "Port Huron, Bay City and Clin-
ton." The Clinton section of this highway
often designated as the "St. Johns and Gratiot"
road was built in 1859-1860 by Christopher
Darling, of Lansing.
After state highways as objects of
special legislation had gone out of date, com-
panies organized for the purpose of building
and maintaining plank-roads began to flourish.
As with the state roads before mentioned, the
favored terminal for the plank road
routes first planned, was Pontiac in Oak-
land county. The "Pontiac and Corunna
Plank Road Company" was authorized in
1847; ^e "Portland and Shiawassee Plank
Road Company" was authorized at the same
time, the two roads as planned being designed
to effect a road from Portland in Ionia to
Pontiac in Oakland.
Before the general act providing for and
regulating plank-road companies was passed,
the Clinton and Bad River Plank-Road Com-
pany, with a route from DeWitt village to
Saginaw was incorporated; the Michigan and
DeWitt Plank-Road Company came to life in
1848. But no plank roads were built in Clin-
ton county.
As the population of the county increased,
and clearings were made, and when the civil
organization of the county into townships was
more generally perfected, the building and
maintaining of highways became matters of
local concern. Gradually, year by year, Clin-
ton's highways have been improved at an enor-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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mous aggregate expense. Bridges are now
found wherever needed, and at intervals con-
venient to the traveller; our roads are now
generally "turnpiked" and graveled through-
out. It was because of the excellent condition
of Clinton's highways and principal thorough-
fares that the postoffice department gave to our
rural districts the benefits of the "Rural Free
Delivery" system as early iif the course of its
establishment, as will be mentioned hereafter.
Automobiles, finely appointed vehicles, bicycles,
and every manner and method of rural locomo-
tion now use these highways. The Indian trail
and rude highway, fit only for pack-horses and
ox-carts, are things of long ago.
OTHER INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
Michigan's appropriations for "internal im-
provements" in its early history also extended
to plans for making navigable the interior rivers
of the state, and the Maple river (if it may be
called such now) came in for a share of legis-
lative attention. What particular prospects the
originators of the scheme thought they saw in
this enterprise is to the present resident of this
locality, difficult to conjecture. The facts re-
main, however, that under an act of 1837 the
sum of $20,000.00 was appropriated from the
internal improvement fund for the purpose, in
part, of making a survey of a canal route to
unite the Saginaw river with the Maple or
Grand, the same act also appropriating $15,-
000.00 from the same fund to be used in cutting
a canal from the Saginaw to the Maple or
Grand, as the board of commissioners should
chose, provided such a canal was by them
found practicable. Tracy McCracken, chief
engineer of the Saginaw and Maple River canal,
made a survey of a proposed canal route from
the forks of the Bad river, Saginaw county,
westward to the Maple at the "Big Bend," in
Gratiot. The pretentious design was to open
a line of water navigation by means of the
Saginaw, Maple and Grand rivers, from Sagi-
naw bay to Lake Michigan. Work was actually
begun in 1838, portions of the route being
cleared and excavations commenced. But the
state of Michigan was tardy in supplying funds
to contractors, and finally the work was
abandoned in the month of July, 1839. Within
recent years, the timbers prepared for use in
excavation by contractors, being intended by
the chief engineer for locks and dams, part of
it being framed and mortised, could be seen de-
caying upon the ground where the engineer had
left them more than sixty years ago. This ex-
periment cost the state treasury the total sum of
$22,256.81. In 1849 hopes for a canal were re-
vived by the incorporation of a company for
the purposes of building and operating a canal
along the line of the abandoned route, but
nothing ever materialized. In 1885 a survey
was made by George Davis along the Maple
river, in the Clinton county section of the same.
The object was to shorten the channel of the
river. The contract was awarded to Ezra D.
Shrene, of Ohio, for $16,700.00 with the
swamp land grant of 6,400 acres, valued at
$5,000.00. Looking Glass river was also con-
sidered as a possible canal route, and a plan
was outlined for a canal from DeWitt to Wa-
cousta, but this proved but a dream. By build-
ing a dam at Maple Rapids, small steamboats
were enabled to plow the waters of the timid
Maple, the "May Queen" making trips from
Maple Rapids to Bridgeville in Gratiot as late
as in 1880. This is as near as Clinton county
ever came to having water navigation within
its borders, excepting perhaps that the laborious
plodding of Dr. Henry Palmer's drain dredge
up these artificial waterways may be called
water-navigation.
MICHIGAN RAILROAD SCHEMES.
Connected in some instances with these water
navigation and canal schemes, and in others
independent of them, were projects for the
construction of state railroads, launched by the
state legislature according to the general act
of, March 20, 1837, providing for the "con-
struction of certain works of internal improve-
ment and for other purposes." By Act No.
97 of the Public Acts of 1837, a board of
commissioners of internal improvements was
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
created, the same to consist of seven members,
including the governor, he being a member
ex officio, and president thereof. The remain-
ing six members were to be appointed by the
governor with the advice and consent of the
legislature. This board, by the act of March
20, 1837, was authorized to construct several
railroads across the peninsula of Michigan. Of
the three railroads provided for in this act,
the "Northern" concerns us in this narrative.
This railroad, as surveyed and located, was to
run from the St. Clair river through Lapeer
and the present site of the city of Flint, west-
ward to the Big Rapids of the Shiawassee,
being the present site of the city of Owosso,
through Owosso and Middlebury townships in
Shiawassee county, and from thence in a west-
wardly direction, traversing what are now the
townships of Ovid, Bingham, Bengal and Dal-
las, in Clinton, said route running through the
southern portion of the present city of St.
Johns, and from thence to the mouth of the
Grand river on Lake Michigan. The length
of this proposed railroad was about two hun-
dred miles. This survey was made by engineer
Tracy McCracken before mentioned in connec-
tion with the Saginaw-Maple River canal. In
1838 contractors began the work of clearing
the route, and within a year from the time of
beginning, this was completed from Lyons to
Port Huron, excepting twenty miles. In 1839
grading was begun and continued for nearly
seven months. The total appropriations made
in behalf of the Northern Railroad was $15,-
000.00. Of this sum $60,120.78 was expended
in the operations of 1837, 1838 and 1839, when
the route was abandoned because of the dif-
ficulties the contractors suffered because of low
bids and delay of the state treasury to pay cash
promptly as the work advanced. The legis-
lature in an effort to make the most of the
situation, later made an appropriation for the
construction of the Northern wagon road, which
was never of any material benefit to the country
it was designed to aid. Thus closed the history
of the Northern Railroad.
The first railroad enterprise which finally re-
sulted in a real railroad through Clinton, was
the one which lead to the construction of the
Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway
Company's route through Clinton, which re-
mains to this day the principal passenger and
freight thoroughfare through the county. The
Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway
is now a part of the Grand Trunk Railway
system. The story of the beginnings of this
railroad is interesting, and in the main ac-
curately told in the History of Clinton and
Shiawassee Counties, published in 1880. That
narrative is as follows :
THE DETROIT, GRAND HAVEN & MILWAUKEE
RAILWAY.
"The line now known as the Detroit, Grand
Haven and Milwaukee Railway was the first
which was built and completed to any point
within the boundaries of Shiawassee and Clin-
ton; and it was also over the eastern link of
this line (the old Detroit and Pontiac road,
which was in operation many years before the
locomotive reached the waters of the Shia-
wassee river) that the inhabitants of these
counties enjoyed their earliest railway facilities,
by means of stage lines which ran from Lyons
by way of DeWitt, Laingsburg, and other
points in Shiawassee, Genesee, and Oakland
counties, eastward, to the successive termini of
the railroad, — first at Royal Oak, then at Bir-
mingham and finally at Pontiac. For this rea-
son, it seems proper to make brief mention here
of the building and opening of the Pontiac
road, for though it was purely an Oakland
county enterprise, yet it was one in which the
people of Shiawassee and Clinton were inter-
ested,— first, because its connecting stage lines
gave them communication over it, and after-
wards because of its extension, it became a part
of the grand through line which passes through
these counties to Grand Haven and Milwaukee.
The Detroit and Pontiac railroad project
was agitated in Oakland as early as the spring
of 1830, and an act incorporating the "Pontiac
and Detroit Railway Company" was passed by
the legislative council of the territory and ap-
proved by Governor Cass on the 31st of July
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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in the year named, this being the first railway
ever chartered in Michigan. The corporators
were John P. Helfenstein, Gideon O. Whitte-
more, William F. Mosely, William Thompson,
Hervey Park, "and such other persons as shall
associate for the purpose of making a good and
sufficient railway from Pontiac to the city of
Detroit/' the stock of the company to consist
of one thousand shares at one hundred dollars
each. This company, however, found the pro-
ject to be too heavy for the means which they
could command and their charter became void
by reason of their failure to comply with its
conditions.
A second company was formed, and an act
granting a new charter was passed by the ter-
ritorial legislature, and approved by the gov-
ernor, March 7, 1834. Under this act William
Draper, Daniel LeRoy, David Standard, John-
son Niles, Seneca Newberry, Elisha Beach,
Benj. Phelps, Joseph Niles, Jr., and Augustus
C. Stephens, were appointed commissioners to
receive subscriptions to the stock of "The De-
troit and Pontiac Railroad Company," the
amount of which was fixed at fifty thousand
dollars. The work was to be commenced within
two years from the passage of the act, and com-
pleted within six years, the charter to be for-
feited by failure to comply with these condi-
tions. The principal stockholders were Alfred
Williams and Sherman Stevens, of Pontiac, who
were also managers of the affairs of the com-
pany. Operations were soon commenced, but
very slow progress was made in the construc-
tion of the road, and it was not until the fall
of 1838 that a track (which even then was
composed of wooded rails for a part of the
distance) was completed as far as Royal Oak,
and trains made up of cars of the most in-
ferior description, were run from Detroit to
that point by horse-power. In the fall of 1839
the road was extended so that the trains ran
to Birmingham, and steam was introduced as
a motive-power for their propulsion. At that
time, (September, 1839) the Pontiac papers
contained the advertisement of Henry J.
Buckley, agent and conductor, informing the
public that the trains were then running two
trips a day between Detroit and Birmingham,
and making connection at the latter place with
a daily line of "post-coaches' ' for Pontiac and
Flint, and a semi-wTeekly line for Lyons, on the
Grand river, by way of Byron, DeWitt and
other points in Shiawassee and Clinton counties.
In 1840, the company being heavily in debt
and without means of payment, the road was
sold at sheriff's sale and passed into the hands
of Dean Richmond of Buffalo, and other capi-
talists of the state of New York. Then fol-
lowed another period of delay and discourage-
ment, but finally, in September, 1844, the road
was opened to Pontiac, which for more than
ten years continued to be the western terminus,
and the point of connection with the stage-
lines running to Flint, Saginaw and the Grand
river.
In the earlier years of its operation, this road
was made the subject of unmeasured ridicule,
on account of the poverty of the company, the
rough and superficial manner in which the line
was constructed, the poor quality of its car-
riages and machinery, and the exceedingly slow
and irregular time made by the trains between
Pontiac and Detroit. From an article which
appeared in the "Detroit Post" a few years
since, containing some reminiscences of pioneer
railway travel, the following — having refer-
ence to the Pontiac line — is extracted: "The
trains would frequently stop between way sta-
tions at a signal from some farmer who wished
to ask a few questions, or to take passage. An
old lady, denizen of a farm house, with spec-
tacles of a primitive manufacture placed high
upon her forehead, came running out to the
train, waving her bandanna. Her signal being
needed, the train was brought to a stop and her
inquiry of the. conductor was if a certain lawyer
named Drake was on board. After receiving
a negative answer a short conversation was kept
up before the train started on its journey. It
was no uncommon occurrence for the engineer,
who kept his shotgun with him, to bring down
game from his engine, shut off the steam, and
send his fireman after the fruits of his mark-
manship. The road being laid with strap-rail,
one of the duties of the conductor was to keep
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
a hammer for the purpose of spiking down
'snake-heads' wherever they were seen from
the cab of the engineer." An old resident of
Shiawassee county has said to the writer that
he recognizes this as a truthful description of
the operation of the Pontiac road in the year
1 84 1 and there are, no doubt, many others
who have similar recollections of their travel
upon it at about the same period.
After a few years of operation with the
primitive unsafe "strap-rail" the line was leased
for ten years to Gurdon Williams, but the lease
was purchased or relinquished before its ex-
piration, and the road came into the possession
of a company, of which H. N. Walker, Esq.,
was made the president. Under his adminis-
tration a sufficient amount of money was raised
on the bonds of the road to relay the track
with solid "T" rails and to make other improve-
ments necessary to put the road in condition
for business.
Immediately after the completion of the
road from Detroit to Pontiac, a project was
formed to build a railroad from that village
westward through Shiawassee, Clinton and
other counties to Lake Michigan at the mouth
of the Grand river, to connect at that point
with steamers for Milwaukee and other lake
ports. This resulted in the formation of the
"Oakland and Ottawa Railroad Company" and
its incorporation by act of legislature approved
April 3, 1848. The persons appointed as com-
missioners to receive subscriptions to the capital
stock (which was fixed at two million five hun-
dred thousand dollars) wrere Gurdon Williams,
Edward A. Brush, H. C. Thurber, Alfred Wil-
liams, Bowman W. Dennis, John Hamilton, C.
P. Bush, W. A. Richmond and Charles Shep-
ard. The company was empowered by the act
"to construct a railroad with a double or single
track from the village of Pontiac, in the county
of Oakland, passing it through the most desir-
able and eligible route, by way of Fentonville,"
and was required to begin its construction
within five years, and to complete it within
fifteen years from the passage of the act. In
1850 an act was passed (approved March 20th),
providing "That the Detroit and Pontiac Rail-
road Company be and they are hereby author-
ized to extend said railway so as to connect with
the Oakland and Ottawa Railroad when con-
structed, thus forming a continuous line of rail-
road through the village of Pontiac."
The construction of the Oakland and Ottawa
road was commenced in 1852, and in the fol-
lowing year H. N. Walker (who was a lead-
ing spirit in this as well as in the Pontiac
road) purchased in England twenty-six hun-
dred tons of iron which was estimated to be
sufficient to lay the track through to Fenton-
ville. On the 13th of February, 1855, the
governor approved "An Act to authorize the
consolidation of the Detroit and Pontiac, and
the Oakland and Ottawa Railroad Companies,
so as to form a continuous line from Detroit
to Lake Michigan under the name of the De-
troit and Milwaukee Railway Company." By
this act the name of the Detroit and Pontiac
was changed to that of "The Detroit and Mil-
waukee Railway Company," which was em-
powered to increase its capital stock to an
amount not exceeding ten millions of dollars;
and it was provided that "the said company is
hereby authorized, for the purpose of forming
a continuous line, to purchase all the property,
rights and franchises of the Oakland and Ot-
tawa Railroad Company upon such terms as
shall be mutually agreed upon; and the stock-
holders of the said Oakland and Ottawa Rail-
road Company shall in case of sale, become
stockholders of the said Detroit and Milwaukee
Railway Company, in such proportions as may
be agreed upon in the terms of sale; and the
said Oakland and Ottawa Railroad Company
shall thereupon become merged in said De-
troit and Milwaukee Railway Company."
Under the authority so conferred the two
companies were consolidated, and the Oakland
and Ottawa became the Detroit and Milwaukee
line. The work of construction west of Pontiac
had proceeded but slowly during the three years
succeeding its commencement, but as the new
company had negotiated a loan in Europe to
the amount of one million two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, it was now pushed more
vigorously, so that in October, 1855, the road
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
463
was opened to Fentonville, where stage connec-
tions were made from Grand river, and for
Flint and Saginaw. In the following spring
the locomotive entered Shiawassee county for
the first time, and on the 1st of July, 1856,
the road was formally opened to Owosso, where
the arrival of the pioneer train was hailed with
demonstrations of almost unbounded delight
and exultation. The same enthusiasm greeted
the opening of the road to St. Johns, on the 16th
of January following. Well might the people
of Clinton and Shiawassee congratulate them-
selves as they saw the first trains speeding west-
ward, for their coming was an event which
lifted the ban of isolation from these counties
and more than doubled the value of their
domain.
Between St. Johns and Ionia the work was
prosecuted with vigor, and the road was com-
pleted to the last named place in September,
1857. Finally, on the 22d of November, 1858,
the line was opened to its terminus at Grand
Haven, and the locomotive traversed the whole
peninsula from Detroit to Lake Michigan.
The Detroit and Milwaukee road, though a
very great benefit to Shiawassee and Clinton
counties, proved a bad investment for its orig-
inal stockholders. The foreclosure of the bond-
holders' mortgage in i860 placed the road in
the hands of a receiver, and it remained in this
condition until October 19, 1878, when it be-
came the "Detroit, Grand Haven and Mil-
waukee Railway," by passing into the posses-
sion of a company of that name, organized in
the interest of the Great Western Railway
of Canada. It is still owned and controlled
by that company.
The road enters Shiawassee in the township
of Vernon, and passes thence northwestward
into Caledonia. Then turning to a nearly due
west course, it crosses the remainder of Shia-
wassee county and all of Clinton county
through the third tier of townships north of
the south line of the counties. The stations on
the line within these counties are Vernon,
Corunna and Owosso in Shiawassee, and Ovid,
Shepardsville, St. Johns and Fowler, in
Clinton."
It will be noticed from the above account
that the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee
Railway route was completed to St. Johns in
Clinton, January 16, 1857. Many of the pio-
neer residents of the county reached St. Johns
from the eastern states by way of Detroit. One
of them, George S. Corbit, of St. Johns, came
to Clinton by this route in 1857. He states
that the road at that time appeared to be nearly
slashed through the forests. Because of the
roughness of the roadbed, the coupling between
the locomotive and the train was kept loose, so
that the variety of jolts received by the pas-
senger while the train was in motion could
scarcely be counted. The openings along the
sides of the track were then full of stumps, so
that the traveler in looking ahead in search
of his destination, wondered how the engineer
avoided those obstacles. The depot at St. Johns
was at its present location, the building being
made of slabs roughly joined. The train was
met at St. Johns by a crude and cumbersome
two-wheeled dray which had facilities for un-
loading similar to the ordinary dump-cart. St.
Johns at that time was the important distribut-
ing center for a broad territory to the west
and north, and the completion of the railroad,
however crude in its facilities and equipment,
was a great event in the progress of the county.
Clinton county is intersected by other railroads
whose part in the development of the county is
a minor one comparatively, and they are men-
tioned as a matter of historical interest.
OTHER RAILROAD ENTERPRISES.
The railroad which crosses the southwestern
township of Eagle, and in its course towards
the city of Lansing, curves northward across
the Watertown boundary line, was once the
Ionia and Lansing, which was consolidated
with the Detroit and Howell, and Lansing, in
1870. The Detroit, Lansing and Northern
Railroad Company finally became the owner oi
the entire route. The Ionia and Lansing was
opened for travel in 1869, about twelve yean
after the Detroit and Milwaukee was built tc
St. Johns. The village of Eagle in Eagle town-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
ship is the principal station on this route in
Clinton county. The Detroit, Lansing and
Northern is now a part of the Pere Marquette
Railroad system whose routes extend through-
out Michigan.
The Michigan Central now operates a line
of railroad through southeastern Clinton to the
city of Lansing, and from there southward to
Jackson, Michigan, where connections are made
with other branches of that great system and
its main line.
The Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Rail-
road Company was incorporated in 1857. This
company proposed to build a line of railroad
from Amboy in Hillsdale county near the
southern border of the state of Michigan, to
Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan, certainly a
gigantic undertaking. The line as first pro-
posed, passed through Lansing, directly north-
west, but the cities of Owosso and Saginaw saw
here an opportunity, brought enough pressure
to bear to influence the promoters of the enter-
prise to build the road through Owosso, in
Shiawassee, to Saginaw. This railroad com-
pany was incorporated in the first instance with
the idea of obtaining the benefit of an extensive
land grant for its construction. Congress had
passed an act in 1857 granting to the state of
Michigan "every alternate section of land
designated by odd numbers, for six sections in
width on each side of said roads," the roads
referred to being several routes proposed by
the act of congress in question, one of which
was the line "from Amboy by Hillsdale and
Lansing, and from Grand Rapids to some point
on or near Traverse Bay." Michigan gratefully
accepted this grant in 1857. The running of
the route through Shiawassee and Saginaw
counties, necessarily excited some criticism, and
efforts were made to deprive the company of
its share of the land grant on the ground that
such a circuitous route was not contemplated by
the act of congress of 1857. Because of its
crookedness, the road became known as the
"Ram's-horn Railroad," a name it is said was
given to it by a Lansing newspaper.
The road was ready for travel in Novem-
ber of 1862. The Owosso Press, in its edition
of January 10, 1863, contains the following
item: "The rush over the Rams-horn road to
Lansing this week has been like the rush to a
newly discovered gold mine." The eastward
turn of the road from Lansing seems to have
been a fortunate one for it is now a very im-
portant route. Like other railroads of its
period, its earnings were insufficient, so that its
stockholders were compelled to see their
property in a receiver's hands in 1864. For a
time it was operated with the Detroit and Mil-
waukee, which company furnished the rolling
stock and equipment. In 1866 the franchises,
equipment, and property were sold to the Jack-
son, Lansing and Saginaw Railroad Company,
which has subsequently become a branch of the
Michigan Central as before stated. This road
traverses sections 35 and 36 of DeWitt, runs
across Bath township nearly diagonally from
section 31 in the southwestern corner, to sec-
tion 3 on the northern tier, and from there
traverses the southeastern corner of section 34,
and crosses diagonally sections 35 and 25 in
Victor, and thence leaves Clinton on its way to
Owosso. The village of bath is its important
Clinton county station, and as will be seen,
this railroad has been an important factor in
the development of the southeastern portion of
our county.
After the completion of the Detroit, Grand
Haven and Milwaukee, which gives to Clinton
county an outlet east and west, the great need
has been and now is a line of railroad extend-
ing from Lansing, which has become, perhaps
the most important railroad center in central
Michigan northward through Clinton through
the city of St. Johns, into Gratiot county to the
city of Ithaca, or some other northern point.
This question has been agitated for years, and
various projects have been discussed for its ac-
complishment. Until the completion of the in-
terurban electric railway, which now operates
between St. Johns and Lansing, through De-
Witt village, the latter, although most favor-
ably located, had no means of communication
whatever and St. Johns was entirely without
southern connections. The beautiful village
of Maple Rapids in Essex township is to this
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
465
clay devoid of railroads of any kind, steam or
electric. This fact, the lack of railway facili-
ties, north and south, has been and is the most
unfortunate circumstance to be noted in the
progress of the county. At one time it was con-
fidently expected by residents of that village
that the line now known as the Toledo and Ann
Arbor, which intersects northeastern Duplain
and helps sustain the beautiful and progressive
village of Elsie, would be built through Ovid,
but here again there was disappointment. The
road mentioned was first launched as the
Owosso and Northwestern Railroad Company
with its southern terminal at Owosso and its
stopping place at Frankfort, Benzie county.
The movement for a southern railroad con-
nection took form as early as 1864, when the
Jackson and Lansing Railroad Company was
organized. It was originally intended that this
line would be built northward from Lansing,
through Clinton, Gratiot and Isabella counties.
As has been stated, the road mentioned, passed
to the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Com-
pany, and St. Johns' hopes vanished up the
"Ram's-horn" (route).
The next move was the incorporation of the
Lansing, St. Johns and Mackinac Railroad
Company. This wras principally a St. Johns
enterprise, and was organized in 1869 for the
purpose of building a line of railroad from
Lansing through the villages of DeWitt, St.
Johns, Ithaca and northward. Of this com-
pany, R. M. Steel was president, I. A. Fancher,
now of Mt. Pleasant, vice-president, Oliver L.
Spaulding, now of Washington, D. C, secre-
tary, and S. S. Walker, now of Old Mission,
Grand Traverse county, was treasurer. Green-
bush, Olive, DeWitt and Bingham townships
bonded themselves and provided the sum of
$85,000.00 to assist the enterprise. The statute
under which this was done was afterwards de-
clared unconstitutional by the supreme court,
and nothing was done towards constructing the
road, beyond some preliminary surveys.
Later the Lansing and St. Johns Railroad
Company came to light. The incorporation took
place in 187 1. Those of Clinton county who
had a hand in promoting this company were
Oliver L. Spaulding, Alvah H. Walker, Henry
M. Perrin, Porter K. Perrin, John Hicks,
Charles Kipp, O. W. Munger, R. M. Steel, S.
S. Walker, Randolph Strickland, M. Heaven-
rich, George W. Emmons. Sixty thousand
dollars was provided for by subscriptions to
stock, but the dark days of 1873 in financial
circles killed the enterprise, and Clinton county
received no aid from that source.
In the years 1884 and 1885, the Lansing,
Alma, Mt. Pleasant and Northern Railway
Company held the attention of the people of the
county, and seemed to foreshadow great events
in Clinton's affairs. It was thought that in
and through this project, Clinton was at last
to succeed in obtaining a steam railroad north
and south through the city (then village) of
St. Johns. It will be noted that it was during
this period that what is now the Toledo and
Ann Arbor line, which merely intersects the
northeastern edge of the county, was finally
opened northward and many opinions expressed
as to the complete failure of the L., A., Mt. P.
and N. to materialize, were due to the fact that
some of its promoters became too heavily in-
terested in the Toledo and Ann Arbor. The
proposition met with great encouragement from
the time it became public, and meetings were
held in St. Johns and elsewhere, and every-
one was hopeful. So sure were the business
men that the road wTould be built that real
estate increased in value, and every line of busi-
ness felt the exhilarating effect of the new
hope.
But after all the effort made in its behalf,
and in spite of the fact that the enterprise
promised to be a profitable one for its pro-
moters, the railroad was never built, and little
done towards its construction beyond a few sur-
veys. The Clinton Republican, in its issue of
January 22, 1885, has this to say about the
"new railroad."
"Anything new about the railroad? is the
question asked of us every day. No move has
yet been made toward commencing work on
this section of the Lansing, Alma and Mt.
Pleasant railroad, and we wouldn't bet a nickle
to a dime that the road will be built. The
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
annual meeting of the stockholders will be held
at Alma, February 5, and it is probable that the
fiat of life or death of the enterprise will then
go forth."
Mr. A. W. Wright, the Alma capitalist, was
one of the prominent promoters of the new
company, and R. M. Steel, of St. Johns, was
also concerned.
In the year 1885, there was talk of a line
of railroad from Chicago to Saginaw, which
would take in Elsie, St. Johns and Westphalia
in Clinton, but the matter ended here.
THE LANSING AND SUBURBAN ELECTRIC
RAILWAY.
Barring paper lines of railroad and rumors,
or perhaps the suspicion of a project hinted at
by newspapers, this ended our steam railroad
enterprises. The successful introduction of
interurban lines in southern and eastern Michi-
gan, together with the great necessity, prompted
an agitation and movement for an electric road
from Lansing to St. Johns, north and west to
Maple Rapids, and from there into Gratiot
county and to points north. Consequently, after
much discussion, in April, 1900, the Lansing,
St. Johns and St. Louis Railway was launched.
The estimated cost of building the line was fixed
by the promoters at $1,500,000.00. It will be
noted that this line was to take in Maple Rapids,
the village which had been waiting so long.
Public meetings were held; subscriptions
pledged, and the people of the villages along the
line of the proposed route became highly hope-
ful and enthusiastic. The company originally
incorporated was capitalized at $500,000.00.
The construction contract was finally awarded
to the Arnold Construction Company, of Chi-
cago, and the work of opening the way began.
On several occasions the situation became very
critical and the promoters themselves were un-
able to agree upon the details of their manage-
ment. But one by one these difficulties dis-
appeared and the horizon brightened. Thou-
sands of dollars in subscription notes were
pledged. Even at this late date, the present
company is engaged in collecting some of this
subscription paper. These notes were given
under various conditions, and quite an amount
will never be realized by the company, because
of its failure to build its line according to the
terms described in the notes.
After the original company was on its feet,
the Lansing and Northern was put in commis-
sion. Its objects were similar to those of the
first company, but this corporation was born
under the "Tramway Act," as it is called. The
purpose of this move was to enable the com-
pany to obtain its right-of-way over contesting
land-owner's properties by instituting condem-
nation proceedings, so it was stated by the pro-
moters. The Lansing and Northern did ex-
perience considerable difficulty in opening a
right-of-way from Lansing to St. Johns, and
the courts were appealed to in several instances.
In many cases, however, land-owners gladly
gave the company free passage, and on the
whole the company received cordial treatment
from the people.
The work of construction proceeded slowly.
The steam railroads were inclined, if reports
are to be accepted, to cause the new electric
line all trouble possible. The fact remains that
the St. Johns line encountered many obstacles
from that source. The Pere Marquette, whose
track the St. Johns line crossed, delayed
progress by resisting the building of the over-
head bridge. Other lines added to these dif-
ficulties by delays in handling and delivering
supplies and equipment to the new road.
Finally, however, the roadbed was graded and
the track laid to St. Johns to the head of
Swegles street. Permits were secured by the
company and a locomotive attached to an old
passenger coach, began the passenger traffic,
and the "Great Northern" was a reality. On
March 26, 1901, practically the first trip over
the line was made, when the train carried a
party of St. Johns business men to Lansing, for
the purpose of investigating the beet-sugar in-
dustry at that place, there being at that time,
an agitation towards the establishment of a
plant at St. Johns. The "Suburban" road was
built with heavy rails and designed to carry
freight, and before long freight cars were oc-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
467
casionally seen on the line. The promoters and
contractors interested in the enterprise, became
involved in difficulties among themselves over
financial matters, and for a time affairs stood
still, until court proceedings could straighten
and' adjust them. Permission to use steam as
a motive power was extended from time to time,
finally to December 14, 1902. Electric service
was not fully installed until some months^ later,
and by degrees the equipment and service of
the line has reached its present perfection.
The St. Johns line is now owned and oper-
ated by a corporation known as the Lansing and
Suburban Traction Company, which also con-
trols the Lansing electric street railway, the
St. Johns line being operated as a part of that
system. The service on the line has improved
marvelously since this change of management,
and at present the road is splendidly equipped
and successfully operated and has become a
favorite line of travel to Lansing. The village
of DeWitt, which so long was but a shadow
of its former greatness in Clinton county
history, has taken on new life, and noticeable
improvements have taken place since the ad-
vent of the electric railway. The company runs
one freight and baggage car daily, and has
placed several sidings along its route for load-
ing freight cars with produce, especially sugar-
beets. It is not improbable that before long
the company will be prepared to handle heavy
freight in large quantities, and when that time
comes Clinton county will have attained what
it has been asking for all these years — a line
of transportation southward.
The line has never been built northward from
St. Johns. Various reasons have been given
to explain this unfortunate fact. One is that
the company is not yet financially strong enough
for the undertaking; another is that experts
have gone over the proposed route and reported
that the population, taking into account the
number of miles to be traversed, does not war-
rant the extending of the line. Maple Rapids
is still without a railroad, and without doubt,
were the line built northward, St. Johns would
receive much benefit and the county generally
wTould receive many advantages. However the
extending of the road to the north is but a
matter of time. There was considerable talk,
while the Lansing and St. Johns line was in
progress of construction, of an electric line
from Saginaw, incorporated as the Saginaw
Southern, invading Clinton county from the
north, but nothing has yet been accomplished.
On the other hand, a corporation — or rather
several corporations have been organized for
the purpose of building a continuous line of
electric railway connecting Grand Rapids and
Detroit, which would take in Ovid, St. Johns
and Fowler, and surveys have been made. It
is thought by many who have given the matter
attention, that the city of St. Johns will, in the
future, become a center for electric railway
lines.
GROWTH OF THE SETTLEMENTS.
After considering the obstacles in the path of
the pioneer who sought a home and competency
among the wilds of Clinton, the wonder is that
these settlements progressed as rapidly as
history records they did. The fact is that after
the establishment of the isolated settlements
here and there by small groups of families, thus
in each instance forming the nucleus of a com-
munity, the national and civic progress of the
county is no less than marvelous. These set-
tlements were composed of families who were
willing to brave the hardships of pioneer life
in order that they might build homes, and the
home is the fundamental institution upon which
civil society is founded. Once these homes,
however simple, whatever the privation, the
school, church, county and township organiza-
tions must naturally follow.
As has been recorded herein, George Cam-
pau, the Indian trader, entered the Maple River
country in 1832. Makitoquet, the chief, and
his people were then the occupants of this sec-
tion, and the white settlers came into intimate
contact with them. Campau purchased the
northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of
section number eight of what is now Essex
township, in November of 1832, and some time
later established his trading station. It will
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
be noted that this purchase was at the site of
the present village of Maple Rapids, and that
the Maple river, so important a factor in the
progress of Clinton county, is right at hand.
In 1835 Louis Campau, a brother of George
Campau, took up the south forty acres of the
eighty-acre tract described as the west one-
half of the northwest quarter of the section
numbered above, and shortly after George
Campau built a home at the "Rapids," upon the
north forty above described, for his wife and
children, whom he brought with him. The
dwelling he created was of the pioneer pattern,
and near it he built his store building for he
was the Indian trader. This building of hewn
logs, remained standing for years after its
builder was forgotten. It was here that the
people of Makitoquet exchanged and bartered
the forest products, furs and peltries, for the
trader's merchandise. Campau, being a fluent
Frenchman, was able to converse with his In-
dian customers either in French or Chippewa
dialect, an accomplishment indispensable to In-
dian traders of the northwest. Tobacco,
whiskey, cheap calicoes, knives, lead and pow-
der, and trinkets, toys and ornaments of various
attractiveness and utility to his customers, con-
stituted his stock in trade. This trading post
was the center of community life in the north-
west Clinton for some time. The township of
Wandagon in 1838, and Lebanon in 1839, held
their first township meetings at this post. In
1842 John Johnson purchased the interests of
Campau, who went to Grand Rapids. Follow-
ing Campau came Hiram Benedict, Timothy H.
Pettit, and their families, with John Brown, a
single man. These pioneers came from Sara-
toga, New York, in 1837. Benedict purchased
the west half of section nine, and later the east
one hundred and sixty acres of section eight
came into his possession, this giving him con-
trol of a tract of four hundred and sixty acres
of land. It is interesting to note that Benedict
was successively supervisor of Wandagon,
Lebanon, Bengal and Essex townships, which
positions of honor and trust he held without
changing his residence. This fact is due to the
changes in boundaries of the townships in
course of their development, as will be de-
scribed later.
Lyman Webster, called "Maquah" by his
Indian neighbors, and Chauncey M. Stebbins,
came on the scene from Ionia in 1837, and set-
tled in the southeastern quarter of the Essex
country upon sections thirty-five and thirty-six.
Daniel Kellogg and Sylvester Stevens came
from Washtenaw and in 1839 located upon sec-
tion nineteen, where Mr. Stevens built a saw-
mill on Hayworth creek, which crosses sections
nineteen and twenty. This mill afterwards be-
came the property of Thomas Irwin and Wil-
liam Hewitt, and was one of several enterprises
of its kind established in early days along the
valley of the Maple and its tributaries.
In 1840, Lucene Eldridge, Joshua Frink and
Joshua Coomer founded homes upon sections
thirty-four and thirty-five ; Solomon Moss came
in 1 84 1 from Cayuga county, New York, to
section thirty-three.
James Sowle, Jr., originally from New York,
later a resident of Washtenaw county, selected
lands on sections twenty-one, two and three,
and in July of 1837 built his residence. Mr.
Sowle was a carpenter and mill-wright by trade,
and superintended the construction of the Wa-
cousta mills in 1837. He erected the first mills
at Hubbardston and Maple Rapids and con-
structed the first frame barn in the township of
Essex in 1839. He was on the most friendly
terms with his Indian neighbors and frequently
plowed their patches of land upon which the
Indian women raised corn, potatoes and turnips,
according to their custom. He received maple
sugar which the Indians along the Maple made
in considerable quantities, as compensation for
his services.
In June of 1840, there were in the Essex
county fifteen resident tax-payers; in 1844 the
number had increased to thirty-one; six years
later there were seventy tax-paying citizens re-
siding in township eight north of range three
west, and in i860 the number had increased to
one hundred and ninety-eight. The township
of Essex then had a population of over one
thousand; Maple Rapids was a village of two
hundred and fourteen dwelling houses. Farms
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
469
of large acreage had been cleared and were
tinder cultivation. The settlements had been
divided into school districts and the people were
prosperous and happy.
But before the trader's station had been built
on the Maple river at Maple Rapids, and prior
to the entry of Rochester colony into the wilder-
ness of Duplain, Captain David Scott, with his
family, had left Ann Arbor in Washtenaw
county, bound for Clinton. Wagons drawn by
ox teams were the means of transportation and
the journey was full of peril and hardship. The
courageous party reached the present site of
DeWitt village on October 4, 1833. The fam-
ily occupied an Indian wigwam for several
weeks before their log house wTas ready for oc-
cupancy. Captain Scott had previously located
one thousand four hundred and twenty-six
acres of land in DeWitt township. These set-
tlers brought with them one horse and seventeen
head of cattle. In 1834, six hundred and forty
bushels of wheat were raised from a twenty-
acre field. In 1839 Captain Scott erected a
frame building for a store-room and grocery.
In 1838 Milo H. Turner, agent of George T.
Clark, who had located land on the south side
of the Looking Glass, brought a stock of goods
to the settlement and opened a store in DeWitt
village in a log building. By utilizing the saw-
mill of Hiram Stowell, he built a large frame
building which was used as a tavern. In 1844
Milo Turner and his brother, Jesse Foot
Turner, who arrived in 1839, erected a grist-
mill on the Looking Glass which was destroyed
by fire in 1847, DUt rebuilt. The grist-mill
was a valuable addition to the pioneer village
and adjacent country, as previous to its con-
struction, the settlers were compelled to jour-
ney to the Wacousta mill with their grain, the
latter being put up in 1837.
Chauncey S. Ferguson located with his fam-
ily upon section six in DeWitt in 1834. This
pioneer came from Oakland county. The third
pioneer to come to this region was Franklin
Oliver, who journeyed from Niagara county,
New York, in 1835. He entered upon a tract
of over two hundred acres. He built a saw-
mill but never accomplished much with it be-
cause of lack of power. The fourth newcomer,
it is claimed, was William M. Webb who, in
1835, entered a tract of one hundred and
seventy acres upon section six. Webb came
from Plymouth, Wayne county, and was suc-
cessful in clearing and improving the land he
located. Ephraim H. Utley followed William
M. Webb into the DeWitt settlement and started
a clearing upon section seven. Utley was promi-
nent in the public affairs of his day, practicing
law, acting as county commissioner, and hold-
ing township office. The Goodrich neighbor-
hood was opened by Alanson Goodrich, who ap-
peared in 1835 ; made a land entry upon sec-
tion seven in 1837. The first school house in
Clinton was erected upon the Goodrich plat.
Isaac Hewitt also came in 1835 from Steuben
county, New York, stopping at section seven-
teen.
Washington Jatkson, of Wayne county, was
the first circuit preacher to invade this settle-
ment. Services were held by him at dwelling
houses as early as 1838. One by one, family
by family, the DeWitt settlement increased in
number. In 1839 twenty-eight descriptions of
property were on the assessment roll of the
township, while in 1840 the township embraced
within the limits of the present township of De-
Witt, contained forty-five resident tax-payers.
It will be noted that George Campau pur-
chased land on section eight in Essex town-
ship on November 30, 1832, but did not
occupy the same until some time in 1835, after
Louis Campau, his brother, had entered lands
on the same section on July 11, 1835. Captain
David Scott, with Mrs. Scott and two sons,
Charles and David, reached their land in De-
Witt on October 4, 1833. As far as actual
settlement is concerned, Captain David Scott
was the first pioneer, as far as records disclose,
to establish himself in Clinton county. Settle-
ments were made in Lebanon, and Eagle town-
ships in 1834, and in Watertown in 1835 Calvin
Martin became a settler upon lands which he
had previously entered. In 1836 the townships
of Bath, Dallas, Duplain, Greenbush, Ovid,
Olive, Riley and Victor received each its firs
settlers, Bingham and Bengal being settled th<
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
following year. Thus from 1833 to and in-
cluding 1837, every township of Clinton county
had its group of pioneers who began at once the
task of clearing away forests, building saw-
mills and grist-mills, driving out their forest
enemies, and paving the way for the founding
of community and civic life, by establishing
homes, in a wilderness almost isolated from the
civilized world. The story of these settle-
ments will now be briefly narrated, and then
we shall learn how these pioneers lived, and
their customs and methods of surmounting the
obstacles by which an unsubdued wilderness ob-
structed their paths.
PIONEER LIFE AND PROGRESS.
On May 2, 1834, Daniel Barker became the
owner of land on sections thirty and thirty-one
of what is now Lebanon township, his location
being in the southwest portion of that town-
ship, eight north of range four west. This
pioneer's choice was a fortunate one, as he lo-
cated in a most beautiful and fertile section of
country. In the fall of the same year our
pioneer settler brought his wife and infant chil-
dren to their wilderness home from Washtenaw
where he had settled after leaving his native
Connecticut. After building his house, the
work of clearing his land for cultivation J)egan
and after three years of toil twenty-five of his
virgin acres responded to the husbandman's
sownng. Here were born the first pair of twins
who breathed Clinton county air, on June 1,
1837, an event which excited much interest.
This settler was compelled to do his trading at
Ionia, and on one of those tedious journeys he
was drowned in crossing the Maple river. His
oxen perished with him. This tragic circum-
stance happened in November, 1837. It was
in the following March that an Indian, aided
by his dog, discovered the body under the ice.
The Vance brothers, John, Andrew and Wil-
liam, arrived from New York state in the
month of May, 1837. John Vance, of the three,
was married and brought his wife and two
daughters with him. This family began oper-
ations on section thirty-one, and later figured in
the organization of Wandagon township, and
later took a prominent part in Lebanon's affairs.
John A. Millard, related to John Vance, arrived
on the ground in July, 1837. Millard, with his
wife and two infant children, one of whom was
but six weeks old, started from his New York
home in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen.
The team wearing out, was traded towards a
span of horses, and the weary travelers reached
their destination after six weeks of plodding.
Sebastian Beckwith purchased lands in this
vicinity in 1835. After his death in the year
1838, his brothers, one Dr. Norton H. and the
other, Miner Y., occupied the Clinton lands.
These settlers also came from Washtenaw
county, where they had located after moving
from Geneva, New York. It is reported that
Norton H. Beckwith built a frame house and
barn in 1840. In December, 1838, Charles
Sessions, who came with his parents from
Onondaga county, New York, and settled in
Ionia county in Lyons township, began im-
provements upon a tract of one hundred and
twenty acres which lay in section twenty-two.
His neighbors were the East Plains community
before mentioned. Our prioneer started out
with an axe and twenty dollars, but his labors
counted much in opening the wilderness of cen-
tral Lebanon as yet not invaded. His associates
were Indians and wild animals until 1840, when
Miriam McCooley became his wife. Mr.
Session's first ox team grew under his eye from
a pair of calves.
Mr. Jay Sessions, a son of Charles Sessions,
is now a resident of Lebanon. In a history
of the township, prepared by Mr. Sessions for
the Clinton County Pioneer Society, Mr. Ses-
sions says, "In the spring of 1837, Charles Ses-
sions, father of the writer of this sketch, the
eldest of a family of seventeen children, came
from Onondaga county, New York, on the lake,
with a sister and two brothers, to Detroit, with
wagon, ox yokes, chains, household goods, etc.,
where they met their father who had crossed
Ohio and purchased two yoke of oxen.
With this outfit they drove through, making
twelve to fifteen miles daily. From Pontiac it
was an unbroken wilderness. The journey lay
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
47i
through DeWitt, where were found a few set-
tlers. The first day out from the latter village
thev stayed over night in the woods near the
late Cortland Hill's residence in Bengal, which
was prior to his moving there. Mr. Sessions
first went with his parents one mile west of
Matherton, but in December, 1838, he put up
a log hut on the southeast quarter of the north-
east quarter of section twenty-two in Leba-
non, being six miles from any white neigh-
bors, and lived there alone until August 27,
1840, when he married Miriam Cooley, of Ionia
county."
Casual reference has been made to salt
springs along the Maple river. In 1836 and
1837 Robert S. Parks, Lawson S. Warner
et al., of Ionia, bought lands of section ten,
fifteen, seventeen and twenty. It is said that
"Parks sunk a barrel of salt in a hole on the
bottom of Maple river for purposes of specu-
lation." However, the original name "Wanda-
gon," signified salt springs, and early residents
of Shiawassee have asserted that Indians ob-
tained salt from Lebanon before Clinton was
well known. Anyhow, a corporation was or-
ganized by legislative act of 1838, named the
"Clinton Salt-works Company." Frame build-
ings were erected and a village plat made;
advertising was done in the financial centers
of the east. The company had ingenuity and
land but little salt. The "Clinton Salt-works
Bank" was also born in 1838, whose history
was similar to that of other "wildcat banks,"
which did such great damage to business in
Michigan during that period of "frenzied
finance."
In 1840 nine resident tax-payers were en-
rolled. They were assessed upon an aggregate
of one thousand seven hundred and nineteen
acres. The speculating enterprises before men-
tioned, retarded the settlement of the township,
so that in 1850 there were but thirty tax-pay-
ers residing within Lebanon's borders, while in
Essex, whose first actual settlement was later
than that of Lebanon, there were seventy.
However, the next ten years was a most suc-
cessful decade in the township's progress, there
being at that time one hundred and thirty-three
resident property owners.
30
In 183 1, Anthony Niles and Stephen B.
Groger, accompanied by their families, came to
Detroit from Genesee county, New York, by
the steamboat Robert Fulton. With them they
brought their supply of goods and chattels in
boxes and barrels. After landing at Detroit
they moved on into Oakland county by means
of ox teams hitched to wagons. Later Niles,
with others, followed the Indian trail from
Pontiac westward to the present site of Port-
land. In February, Niles and Groger and
families started west from Troy, in Oakland
county. When DeWitt township was reached
their horses became mired and after much
trouble were extricated. The cabin of Captain
Scott was reached after a laborious journey.
Here the party with others, Daniel Clark, Her-
man Thomas and John Benson, decided to con-
tinue the trip by means of boats and rafts down
the Looking Glass. The rude crafts were
finally launched, and with Clark, Thomas and
Benson aboard the journey down the river be-
gan. Niles and Groger, with a yoke of oxen,
remained on land to wend a tedious path
through the forests. The water transportation
did not prove successful, as the raft "struck a
snag," and the navigators were forced to land.
The goods carried by the raft were transferred
to the whitewood "dug-outs" and operations
were resumed. The boats were overloaded and
one of them came near enough sinking to lose
a coop of fowls for their owners. The goods,
wares and merchandise of the party were landed
and transferred near section twenty-three of
Eagle. The party on board the water craft
moved on to the present site of Portland, in
Ionia county. When Niles reached that vicinity
he pitched his tent. One of his cows strayed
from the camp and Niles spent the next day
looking for her. In his search he had an op-
portunity to observe the country. He followed
on to the Indian village where his companions
stopped. He soon concluded, however, that the
spot where he had lost his cow was the place
for him to locate, and in consequence the whole
party returned. Section twenty-three was the
choice of them all, and Daniel Clark and Her-
man Thomas started for the White Pigeon land
office for the purpose of entering lands for them-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
selves and Niles, Groger and Benson. Niles
and Groger remained upon the lands they had
selected, while Clark and Thomas did not re-
turn until the following fall. On the ist day
of March, 1834, Niles' son, Ezekiel, felled the
first tree which fell by a woodman's axe in
Eagle. The Niles log house was built near
the spot where the pioneer had pitched his tent
on the journey into the interior. The second
dwelling was erected by Groger. The first
birth in Eagle was that of Susan Groger, who
saw light in October, 1834.
John Benson and Herman Thomas were the
next to build cabins on their lands in Eagle.
In the fall of 1834 Anthony Niles built a log
house twenty-eight by thirty feet in dimensions
and here the first church organization of Eagle
came to life.
In the year 1836 immigration throughout
the county increased at a considerable rate, as
has been noted, and Eagle received its propor-
tion. In 1836 the first frame building was
constructed by Anthony Niles and son for
Jesse Monroe from lumber brought from Port-
land. The building was located on section
seven. In the same year one Peter Kent built
a saw-mill for Philo Beers on section number
fourteen. Another saw-mill was made by
Henry Gibbs for Philo Doty. Among the other
early settlers are the following: Oliver Beers,
on section twenty-six ; Philo Beers, section four-
teen ; Charles Beers, section thirty-four ; Morris
Allen, on section twenty-three; Joseph Eddy,
section fifteen ; Jacob DeWitt, on section fifteen ;
Valentine Cryderman, section thirteen, and so
the list might be continued. In 1841, seven
years after Anthony Niles built his cabin, there
were at least forty-five resident tax-payers in
Eagle township.
Daniel Clark's brother, David Clark, ac-
companied him on his return to Eagle town-
ship, after entering his land in 1834. The two
brothers felled the timber on five acres of the
plat, preparatory to making a clearing, and left
for Pontiac. In the fall of the same year,
Daniel Clark with another brother, Henry,
finished the clearing and sowed a field of wheat.
In the fall of 1835, Jonas Clark, who had set-
tled in Oakland in 1833, joined his brothers in
Eagle. This family performed a considerable
part in the pioneer days of the township. Only
recently, a member of this group of settlers died
at his home in the township of his choice. Born
in Rutland county in Vermont, in 18 17, he
visited Eagle in 1834, when but seventeen years
of age. In September, 1835, he returned with
his parents and remained until the day of his
death, October 24, 1905. He was a son of
David Clark, before mentioned. In 184 1 the
township had forty-five land-owners whose
names appeared upon its tax-rolls. Of these,
Stephen Groger held one hundred and twenty
acres on section twenty-two; Oliver Doty, two
hundred and forty acres on sections twenty-five
and twenty-six; W. F. Jenison, two hundred
and forty acres on section twenty-two; Joseph
Eddy, three hundred and eighty-five acres on
sections fourteen and fifteen. Out of the total
of forty-five, four were on section twenty-two,
six on twenty-three, five on twenty-five. Orange
Eddy was alone on section two; Jason Ma-
comber had number four all to himself ; George
W. Jones was the only landlord on thirty-one;
Henry Rowland held one hundred and fifty-
five acres on thirteen, while Oliver Rowland
owned one hundred and eighty-two acres of the
same section. Henry Rowland's family was
the seventh of the settlers to locate in Eagle,
and in another chapter of this narrative will
appear his story of the pioneer's life in Eagle,
as related by Mrs. M. J. Niles. Eagle village,
which is located on section twenty, was not
platted until the advent of the Detroit, Lansing
& Northern Railroad (then the Ionia and
Lansing), in 1873.
Watertown township is divided into two near
nearly equal divisions by the Looking Glass
river which follows a westward course through
sections thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen, eighteen, bending north from section
seventeen and traversing the southern part of
section eight. The Looking Glass was utilized
to a considerable extent in this region for water-
power and the remains of many primitive mills
may be seen along its banks. It will be re-
membered that James Sowle, the Essex settler,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
473
built the Wacousta mill in Watertown in
1837. Section twelve received the first Water-
town settler in 1835, when Calvin Marvin
brought his family from Oakland county to his
one hundred and twenty-acre tract. Dr. Seth
Marvin settled near his father and began the
practice of medicine, later moving to DeWitt,
then the central settlement of the county.
Samuel Foreman, originally a New York man,
but directly from Wayne county, located upon
section eleven in 1835, being the second settler
in that region. Samuel Hill, another Wayne
county settler, began operations on section
fifteen. In 1836, Edward Butterfield purchased
land on section twelve, but did not settle upon
the same until 1838; in 1837 a settler from
Tioga county, New York, traveled the Dexter
trail to the Ionia land office and became the
holder of land on sections two and three. His
name was Selah Ferris. He began his clear-
ing the following year. William Mosher, also
arrived on the scene in 1837; the number of
residents increased rapidly, so that in 1841,
there were thirty-nine land-owners. Of this
number W. Hubbel held possession of three
hundred and ninety-one acres on sections seven,
eight, seventeen and eighteen. Lands were lo-
cated and entered in Watertown at the early
date of 1834, but the first actual settlement
was made as above stated. Benjamin Silsby,
who came to the township in 1838 from Steu-
ben county, New York, engaged in the busi-
nes of moving settlers from Detroit and
Pontiac and other points, to Clinton county.
Later he followed the occupation of a peddlar
and finally, with Harvey Hunter, opened a
store in Wacousta, in 1840. Money being
scarce, hides, wheat and other commodities
were the medium of exchange. In 1839, Parker
Webber came to Wacousta from New York,
and took charge of the Wacousta grist mill.
The first grist put through the mill was a
bushel of corn. Tradition does not inform us
as to the amount of "toll," which the miller
took for this grist.
County School Commissioner T. H. Town-
send, in an article on Watertown history, pre-
sented by him to the Clinton County Pioneer
Society recently, has the following to say re-
garding the naming of this township : "I have
been unable definitely to settle as to the de-
rivation of the name Watertown, but here is
at least a plausible theory. It is a generally
well known fact of history that emigration takes
place along the parallels. By that I mean that
a people emigrating from a certain latitude in
the east, for instance, say one hundred, five
hundred or a thousand miles, will be found mak-
ing homes for themselves in about the same
latitude that they had occupied in the east.
Trace the history of each people from east to
west, following parallels, and you will find
them to possess many things in common, com-
mon habits and tastes and the same family
names, the same geographical names. Look on
your maps and you will find Clinton county
crosses by the same parallels as central New
York and northern Massachusetts And through-
out New York and Massachusetts you will find
the geographical names of Essex, Clinton,
Rochester, DeWitt and Watertown ; Watertown
especially being a favorite name in that section
of the east. As above stated, the historic settlers
of Watertown, almost to an individual, either
directly or indirectly, came from Massachusetts
or New York and that, together with the fact
that the part of Watertown first settled, was
well watered (hence the name a fitting one)
would at least establish a plausible theory upon
which to found a reason for christening the
organization Watertown."
In 1836 settlements throughout the county
multiplied rapidly. During this year, actual
settlements were made for the first time in Bath,
Dallas, Duplain, Greenbush, Ovid, Olive, Riley
and Victor townships. In 1837 the list was
completed, when Cortland Hill and Lucius
Morton settled Bengal and Bingham, respect-
ively. It is worthy of notice that DeWitt town-
ship, which was actually settled the first of all
townships of the county, was for some years
the commercial center of the county and con-
tained the county seat while Bingham was the
last of the whole number to receive a settler in
December, 1837, and now contains the largest
city of the county and has the county seat.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Reference has been made to the discouragements
which the settler in Bath township encountered,
because of the large amount of marsh and
swamp lands which the township contained
within its borders. The settlement and de-
velopment of this section of country was slow,
because of these conditions. On the other hand,
some of the settlers who had first taken pos-
session of the township, preferred to hunt and
fish, rather than to clear land and make farms
and these persons regarded the encroachments
of immigrants with disfavor, even to the point
of resistance. All sorts of schemes were re-
sorted to by this unscrupulous class to discour-
age and prevent further settlement of the
county. Roads were blockaded; warning no-
tices were posted. In some instances the more
respectable settlers were actually driven from
the township.
Ira Cushman was doubtless the first settler
to locate in Bath. He entered upon section
nineteen in 1836. He brought his family to his
land in the winter of 1837. The log house he
built was twenty-six feet long by sixteen feet
wide, quite a building for those days in Clinton
county. His first crops were fields of corn and
potatoes. In 1836 Silas W. Rose appeared and
looked the ground over, and in April of the
next year, shortly after Cushman had taken his
abode on section nineteen, Rose landed on the
ground and settled upon a tract of three hun-
dred and twenty acres on section twenty-three.
His family consisted of his wife and five chil-
dren. He was the fortunate possessor of three
ox teams, a wagon, two cows and farming
implements, besides a reasonable household
equipment. There is some doubt as to whom
belongs the credit of plowing the first furrow
in Bath township, Cushman or Rose. In the
spring of 1837 James Smith settled upon sec-
tion thirty-six. In the autumn of the same
year Jacob Conklin built his cabin on section
seven. It is said that this house contained but
one board, and that was a part of the single
door the cabin had. Section eighteen was
entered by Nathaniel Newman and family at
about the same time. Newman died in 1838.
The conditions above mentioned, which re-
tarded the growth of the township, had their
effect to a late date. In 1852 the aggregate
valuation of the assessable property, as rated
by the board of supervisors of the township,
was $18,450.00, as against $71,051.00 for
DeWitt; $54,586.00 for Eagle; and $48,242.00
for Essex.
In 1843 there were twenty- four votes cast for
supervisor; in 1850 the number was thirty-
four; in i860 the number had increased to
one hundred and three; in 1870 to one hundred
and twenty-six and in 1880 the number of votes
cast was two hundred and ninety-six.
This township is drained by the Looking
Glass river, and during the last twenty-five
years the progress of the township has been
rapid.
Dallas township is drained by Stony creek,
which flows westward through Dallas from
Bengal. In the early days this stream was of
more consequence than now and was used to
some extent as a water-power. The old road
following the line of this stream through Dallas,
westward, was formerly an important avenue
of travel. In 1836, when Morris Boughton
and Benjamin Welsch came into Clinton,
Welsch was the first settler in Dallas, while
Boughton was the first to locate in Riley.
Welsch established himself in section thirty-
six near the road cleared by the Dexter Colony,
on its march to Ionia before mentioned. In
1837 one Simeon McCoy put up a cabin upon
a four hundred-acre tract on section twenty-
seven, owned by Giles Isham, of Lyons. Mc-
Coy left the country after clearing eleven acres.
George F. Dutton, born in Chenango county,
New York, moved to Detroit with his mother,
and from there located in Ionia and established
himself upon the Grand river in the spring of
1835. In 1840 he exchanged his Ionia property
for a tract of one hundred and sixty acres on
section twenty-two of Dallas. At this time,
McCoy had departed. It is said that Nathan
Bigelow and his wife were living in a wagon
box on section twenty-three, one mile east of
Dutton' s place, when the Dutton family arrived.
Bigelow's neighbors turned in and helped him
build a cabin. Dutton was one of the more
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fortunate settlers who owned horses and he
made use of his opportunity and engaged in the
business of hauling merchandise from Detroit
to the western settlements. He followed the
line of the old Dexter trail in making his trips.
Northern Dallas received its first settler in the
person of Andrewr R. Vance, a bachelor, who
located on section four. He came from the
Vance family who settled on the Lebanon Plains
at an early date. At about the time of Dutton's
appearance in Dallas, the famous Parks family
settled upon the Isham tract where McCoy be-
gan his clearing. Smith Parks, with a family
of seventeen children, invaded Dallas and this
family became a sturdy factor in the history
of the township. Davis Parks, a brother to
Smith Parks, settled upon section twenty-seven
also. He and his brother built a saw-mill upon
a site on Stony creek in 1840, hauling the lum-
ber for construction from Miles Mansfield's
lumber mill on the Looking Glass, in Eagle.
Davis Parks came from Oakland county to
Dallas, and made five trips over the long road
with an ox-team, in moving his goods. In the
early days, a band of sturdy, thrifty German
settlers crossed the Dallas line from West-
phalia and settled upon lands south of Stony
creek. Among these were John Schaffer, who
lived on section thirty-one; John A. Fedewa,
who conducted a store on section thirty-two.
Little progress was made in the settlement of
northern Dallas until after the advent of the
Detroit and Milwaukee Railway. The town-
ship was named through the suggestion of
George F. Dutton.
The question arises, why is it that Ovid
township, lying upon the eastern border of Clin-
ton county, was one of the last in being settled.
What explanation there is, will be disclosed by
this article. The surface of the country con-
fined within the borders of this township is
level, the soil fertile; the township is traversed
from north to south by the Maple river and
its tributaries.
The settlement of Ovid is linked with the
establishment of Rochester colony in Duplain
in 1836. Samuel Barker located upon sec-
tion six of Ovid township in July of that year,
and erected his log cabin upon the north line
of that section. Reference to a county map will
show that he was a neighbor of the Duplain
settlers of the same period. Barker staid on
section six until December, 1836, when he
moved over to the Colony with his friends. The
cabin with its bark floor and roof was not long
vacant. In the early part of 1836, Allen
Lounsbury and William H. Farager had located
land on sections four and six, and in Decem-
ber, 1836, Lounsbury arrived with his family
from Oakland county, having made the jour-
ney by means of an ox-team and wagon.
Lounsbury took up a residence in the Barker
cabin while he built his cabin on section four,
in which work he was aided by Enoch Willis,
a brother-in-law. The Lounsbury family suf-
fered its share of privations which were the lot
of the pioneer. On one occasion in the spring
of 1837, the head of that household started on
foot for Laingsburg for a supply of flour which
the family was in need of. Not being able to
obtain any at Laing's store, he continued to
DeWitt, where he was successful. Shoulder-
ing his load, he trudged home and reached his
destination after a three days' absence. In
1837 the southern portion of the township re-
ceived as its first settler, who wras the third to
enter the township, John Cross, who arrived
writh his family in September of that year. Mr.
Cross and his brother, Thomas Cross, had been
through the country the year before in search
of a location and had built a rude cabin on sec-
tion thirty-six. This dismal home to which the
family came, had no floor, nor doors, and not
even a window. The first nights after their
arrival the family slept in the wagon box until
a bedstead could be made. They prepared their
meals over a log fire, not having a stove. These
settlers suffered considerable difficulty in ward-
ing off starvation. In 1838 found the senior
Cross preparing to remove his family to the
east. It was his intention to wait until a later
day, when the country should be more generally
civilized, before he proceeded farther in clearing
and improving his land. In 1844 ne returned
to the cabin, where he had left his goods stored,
with the intention of returning to his estate, but
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
found that his precautions had not been ef-
fective and that his outfit had been stolen by-
some unscrupulous wanderer.
The next settler to take possession of Ovid
lands was William Van Sickle, who built a
cabin in the southern part of section thirty-one
in the summer of 1838. A small clearing was
made, but here all attempts at improvement
ceased. Inquisitive persons began to investi-
gate, and it was concluded that this cabin was
nothing less than a bogus dollar mint. An ex-
pedition set out from Detroit, upon informa-
tion furnished by Henry Leach, of Scioto, and
captured Van Sickle and his gang, while they
were engaged in the act of coining counterfeit
Mexican dollars. This locality has retained the
name "Bogus Settlement" to date. In 1837
Stephen Pearl settled at the present site of
Shepardsville; in the fall of 1839, Jobey Deni-
son, later famous as a bear-hunter, came to the
township. Later Frederick Cranson, John
Voorheis, Moses Smith and Joseph Parmenter
arrived. David Cranson began a clearing on
section twenty-five in 1838, and in 1839, Mr.
Voorheis moved with his family into the in-
hospitable shanty left by his predecessor, and
began operations. At this time the country
north of section twenty-five was an unbroken
wilderness. Solomon Bush and O. Carpenter
took up land on section twenty-four. In 1840
the tax-roll was as follows :
Allen Lounsbury, section 4, 160 acres.
Enoch Willis, section 5, 80 acres.
William Farager, section 6, 240 acres.
John Jessop, section 9, 160 acres.
Stephen Pearl, sections 9-10, 60 acres.
Frederick Cranson, section 15, 40 acres.
Jude Carter, personal.
David B. Cranson, section 25, 160 acres.
William Van Sickle, section 31, 160 acres.
John McCollum, section 31, 80 acres.
James Nelson, section 31, 80 acres.
Enos Kenyon, section 25, 80 acres.
Jobes Denison, section 35, 120 acres.
Lawrence Cortright, section 36, 80 acres.
William Swarthout, section 36, 320 acres.
James Gunsally, section 5, 80 acres.
A survey of the above record indicates that
in 1840 only nine sections of the township had
resident land owners upon them.
The settlement of Ovid township must be
associated with that of Duplain, insomuch as
the first settlements in both townships were
made by the same group of immigrants from
the east. The Rochester colony originated in
the city of Rochester, New York. At a meet-
ing of those interested on February 29, 1836,
articles of association were entered into. By
these articles, the organization was designated
as "The Rochester Colony." The raising of
a fund for the purchase of lands was provided
by these articles. One peculiar provision re-
garding purchase and ownership of lands was
as follows : "Deeds for any purchase of lands
may be executed to the agents as grantees, but
expressed to be to them as joint tenants in com-
mon, in order that there may be a survivorship
on the death of either. The lands, although
conveyed thus absolutely for the sake of con-
venience, shall be considered as purchased and
held in trust for the subscribers who contribute
to the funds." It was the plan that the lands
purchased by the company should be surveyed
and divided into farm lots of eighty acres each
and village lots. A share consisted of one farm
lot and one or more village lots. The lots were
drawn at Rochester city, and each subscriber
received a contract in writing from the com-
pany's agent, securing to him an interest in the
land which fell to him in drawing. After a
share-holder had made an actual settlement upon
his land or had improved the same to the ex-
tent of one-fourth of the cost, value thereof,
he received a deed of the fee title to his share.
Should any land be left, it was provided that
the same should be sold at auction, and the pro-
ceeds divided among the share-holders. The
intention of the association was to establish an
actual settlement and community in the far west
and as a precaution, their articles provided that
in case any subscribing shareholder failed to
make improvements within eighteen months
after drawing his share, as required by the by-
laws, his holding should be forfeited and sold
at public auction. The proceeds not exceeding
original cost were paid to the subscriber, after
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
477
taxes, assessments and charges were deducted,
and if any balance remained, it went to the
share-holders in good standing. Any person
was entitled to membership and a vote in the
association by subscribing for one share of one
hundred and twenty-five dollars, five dollars
payable at once and the balance payable upon
call. In this manner a purchasing fund was
provided for. As has been stated, some of the
lands purchased and surveyed under this ar-
rangement lay in Ovid township. The tax-roll
of that township for 1840 shows an assessment
to James Gunsally upon "lot 43" upon section
five thereof. Samuel Barker, the first Ovid set-
tler, was the owner of a colony lot on section
six and settled there. At a meeting of the as-
sociation on April 2, 1836, W. G. Russell,
Joseph Sever and E. R. Everest were author-
ized to act as agents for the association as pro-
vided for in the original articles. Among the
original subscribers were the following: E. R.
Everest, W. G. Russell, Joseph Sever, W. P.
Stanton, Jacob Martin, Oliver Bebee, Benjamin
Carpenter, Joseph Atwood, Calvin Brainard,
William Chynworth, Samuel Barker, M. T.
Croode, Francis Faxon, Samuel Graves, John
Ferdon, Electus Boardman, E. W. Collins,
Samuel Brass, Henry Wilson, Rufus Collier,
Jr., Martha Osborn, V. R. Cook, P. A. Ford,
Rowley and Brittan, and E. Rowley. Many of
these names are familiar ones in Clinton county
history.
At the meeting for drawing lots, after the
agents of the association had arranged for the
purchase of a tract in Clinton, on June 29, 1836,
lots were drawn as follows :
Edward R. Everest, farm
William G. Russell, farm
Joseph Sever, farm lots 2
John Ferdon, farm lots 2,
William Cynowirth, farm
Benjamin Carpenter, farm
Samuel Graves, farm lots
Oliver Bebee, farm lots 2,
Samuel Barker, farm lots
M. R. Croode, farm lots 2,
Jacob Martin, farm lots 1,
lots 4, village lots 12.
lots 2, village lots 5.
, village lots 7.
village lots 7.
lots 2, village lots 9.
lots 3, village lots 13.
3, village lots 10.
village lots 5.
2, village lots 4.
village lots 8.
village lots 4.
John Boardman, farm lots 1, village lots 3.
Electus Boardman, farm lots 1, village lots 5.
Edwin W. Collins, farm lots 1, village lots 1.
Rufus Collier, Jr., farm lots 1, village lots 1.
Van Rensselaer Cook, farm lots 1, village lots 1.
Joseph Atwood, farm lots 1, village lots 1.
W. P. and FI. Stanton, farm lots 1, village
lots 1.
George S. Shelmire, farm lots 1, village lots 1.
Henry N. Sever, farm lots 1, village lots 1.
Samuel Brass, farm lots 1, village lots 3.
Simanous Britton, farm lots 1, village lots 3.
Martha Osborne, farm lots 1, village lots 2.
P. A. Ford and E. Bliss, farm lots 1, village
lots 2.
Rowley and Britton, farm lots 1, village lots 2.
Eleazer Rowley, farm lots 1, village lots 3.
Calvin Brainard, farm lots 1, village lots 5.
Francis Faxon, farm lots 2, village lots 5.
Sylvester Bliss, farm lots 2, village lots 5.
It will be seen from the above table that two
thousand six hundred acres of Clinton county
lands were opened to probable settlement by that
proceeding of June 29, 1836.
John Ferdon, Samuel Barker, whose land lay
in Ovid township, and Oliver Bebee, were the
first shareholders to enter upon their possessions.
Joseph Sever and Francis Faxon followed them.
In 1839 tne nst °f resident tax-payers of the
township of Duplain contained the names of E.
R. Everest, Francis Faxon, Oliver Bebee,
Joseph Sever, John Copeland and Samuel
Barker, of the Colony settlers. Of these, E. R.
Everest was assessed upon four hundred and
eighty acres.
Referring to the three commissioners or
agents, W. G. Russell, Joseph Sever and E. R.
Everest, appointed by the association on April
2, 1836, they began operations for the selec-
tion and purchase of lands for the "Colony,"
immediately and on April 12, 1836, Russell and
Sever began their journey westward. The at-
tention of the agents had been directed before
their departure to various localities. Different
sections of Ohio and Indiana were pointed out
to them as worthy of investigation. In Michi-
gan the Grand River region was subject to ex-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
ploration by them, as was the vicinity south of
the present site of Grand Rapids; Ingham,
Eaton, Barry and Clinton counties, together
with the Saginaw country, were also to be in-
vestigated by these servants of the Rochester
company.
In May following, these agents had made
their purchase of sections twenty-eight, twenty-
nine, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three and the
south-west quarter of section thirty of Duplain
township; then known only by the terms of the
United States survey; and sections six and
seven of Ovid township, whose settlement has
already been mentioned herein. The tract thus
purchased consisted of a fraction over four
thousand three hundred acres. The purchase
price was $5,003.82.
The story of the laborious wanderings of
these agents, and the selection of land in Clin-
ton county, is told by a letter written by Agent
Russell to his colleague Everest, which was as
follows :
Bronson Mich., May 11, 1836.
E, R. Everest : Sir : We arrived in De-
troit Friday, 22d of April, making ten days
from Rochester; found the roads bad. The
Ball horse tried and we had to put him off.
We exchanged him for a pony and paid $35.
We stayed in Detroit until the Monday follow-
ing; got what information we could from
Messrs. Alcott, Ketchum, Strong and others
that we thought advisable to inquire, and started
on the Pontiac turnpike leading through the
northwest part of the territory. We stopped
and explored different sections of the country.
We found all the important points taken, ex-
cepting one which lies on the Maple river. We
spent some four days in that part. We think
that the water privileges are good and the land
first best. Sever and myself are much pleased
with it, although it is timbered land. The tim-
ber is beech, maple, hickory, oak, bass, butter-
nut and black-walnut, and as handsome as you
ever saw, and well watered with beautiful
springs. There is a contemplated canal to con-
nect the Maple and Shiawassee together near
this place, which, if that takes place, will cause
a great drift of business through this section
of the country, as it will save something like
one thousand miles of water-carriage around
the lakes. We thought best to look further, and
went to Barry county. We went, but soon re-
turned. Got satisfied that it was too heavy tim-
bered and rough, broken land for us. We then
made up our minds that the Maple river must
be the place. We started off for Bronson that
night; rode until eleven o'clock in the evening;
put up at a tavern, and got permission to sleep
on the floor. Started in the morning; fell in
company with a speculator; was satisfied that
he was after our land. Feeling determined not
to give it up, I changed horses with Sever, the
other man being ahead a mile or two. I set out,
determined not to loose the prize if I lost the
horse. After we got within fourteen miles of
Bronson I had a fresh horse to contend with.
For four or five miles I let him go ahead, until
we got on the last ten miles to the office. I
passed him within a few miles of the office and
got in my application a few minutes before
him, after coming ten miles in forty minutes.
The country around this place is new, and if
any family should leave Rochester for this, they
had better bring everything they want for fam-
ily use. There is no house near. If any one
should set off before we got home you must
direct them from Detroit to take the road lead-
ing northwest fifty miles to Grand Blanc; then
take a west course to Mr. William's on the
Shiawassee river, where they will get all the
information necessary. We applied on Friday
last, and are to have our duplicates at nine
o'clock this morning. We are to leave this
place for the Maple today, with Mr. Hill, to
make the survey and lay the lots. We feel glad
to get away. It is like town-meeting here every
day (Sundays excepted). We shall be in
Rochester about the middle of June probably.
William G. Russell.
For the Colony.
The lots for the colony were platted by Cal-
vin G. Hill, surveyor, who was accompanied
by Agent Russell and Sever in the work. The
plat of the survey was recorded October 27,
1837. This plat was forwarded by "E. R.
Everest, acting agent for the Rochester
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
479
Colony." The village plat was recorded at the
same date. The village survey was made by
one Benjamin H. Brown.
The Maple river,, which crossed section
twenty-nine of the colony purchase in a north-
easterly course, offered good water-power facili-
ties, whose value to the colony was early ap-
preciated by its agents. After the return to
Rochester of Russell and Sever, the day after
the meeting at which the lots were drawn, the
company decided to sell the water-power privil-
eges on section twenty-nine. They were de-
sirous of having mills established there, how-
ever, indicating again their serious intentions
towards permanent settlements. It was esti-
mated that there was power enough to run two
saws and three sets of stones — the colony would
at first need lumber and grist mills above all
other enterprises. Willis Tempshall purchased
the site, and as part of the purchase contract,
bound himself in the sum of three thousand
dollars to have a saw-mill running with at least
one saw within one year, and a grist mill, with
at least one run of stone, within two years. The
purchase price was one thousand one hundred
and fifteen dollars.
In July, 1837, John Ferdon, Oliver Bebee
and Samuel Barker, who were subscribers to
the articles of association at Rochester, accom-
panied by their families and Ellen Lowe, be-
gan the journey westward. Of their company
of sixteen persons, ten were children. The jour-
ney to Detroit was by the water route, and from
that point by the customary ox-team outfits.
They traveled the Grand River trail to a point
north of Laingsburg, and from there north-
ward through the wilderness. They cut a road
of twenty miles through the forest, reaching
their destination on July 28, 1836.
These settlers spent their first night after
their arrival upon the Bebee lot, locating on
Ferdon's lot the next day. Here they erected a
house of logs and with bark roof and floor.
This rude structure stood upon what is now
Greenbush, the Ferdon lot lying to the western
border of what is now Duplain. The Barker
cabin on section six of Ovid, which has already
been referred to, was the next to be built.
Bebee's cabin was next built in Duplain, being
the first to be erected within the borders of that
township, the first two named being in Green-
bush and Ovid, respectively. The Barker and
Bebee families were close neighbors as their
cabins faced each other, one being upon the
north border of Ovid, and the other upon the
south line of Duplain. The progress of the
colony was slower than expected by its founders.
Joseph Sever and Francis Faxon were the next
to arrive, Sever bringing his family with him.
Faxon built a cabin and made a clearing and
returned to Rochester, arriving later with his
family in September of 1837. David Watson,
a blacksmith, had already joined the settlers at
this time. On November 15, 1837, Charles
Baldwin arrived. As has been stated, Barker,
who had settled in Ovid, moved across the line
in December of the same year. His short trip
of three miles northward was full of trouble,
requiring a whole day. In fording the river
the wagon became disconnected and was re-
paired only after tedious efforts by its owner.
Watson, the blacksmith, began to work at
his trade in a shop on section thirty-one in 1837.
Oliver Bebee, one of the first arrivals, was a
carpenter. Samuel Brass, a later arrival, was a
shoemaker, and later kept a store at the Colony.
Tempshall finally established his saw-mill and
grist-mill for the Colony. These mills were a
great benefit to the community, as before their
erection the settlers were compelled to travel to
Ann Arbor, Pontiac and even Detroit, with
their grain. Edward R. Everest opened a store,
and through his efforts a postoffice was es-
tablished. Dr. William B. Watson ' was the
first physician to minister to the sick of the
colony. A Methodist exhorter named Whiting
was a resident of the community. He preached
the funeral of Fidelia Carpenter, whose death
in 1838 was the first in the colony.
x\fter the Rochester colony had established
itself, other settlers began to locate upon various
sections of the township. Duplain township
was first called the township of Sena, and the
following list of resident tax-payers shows the
situation in 1840:
John Burnett, colony lots 1 and 2, 160 acres.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
S terry Lyon, colony lots 2, 80 acres.
Sterry Lyon, section 11, 40 acres.
Abram Becker, colony lot 21, 80 acres.
Francis Faxon, colony lots 16 and 34 and
southwest quarter of section twenty-four, 320
acres.
Oliver Bebee, colony lots 32 and 33, 160
acres.
Joseph Sever, colony lots 8 and 14, 160 acres.
Samuel Barker, colony lot 19, 80 acres.
Grove Cooper, colony lots 31 and ^2, 160
acres.
H. M. Sever, colony lot 18, 80 acres.
Oliver Everest, colony lot 17, 80 acres.
John Ferdon, colony lot 29, 80 acres.
Benjamin Carpenter, colony lot 28, 80 acres.
David Watson, colony lot 26, fr. 20 acres.
Samuel Brass, colony lot 25, 80 acres.
Tempshall and Sever, mill lot, 9 acres.
Nathan Lowe, section 34, 160 acres.
Charles Stevens, section 2J, 80 acres.
Sidney L. Smith, sections 27 and 23, 240
acres.
R. E. Craven, sections 10, 11, 22, 23, 400
acres.
Thomas Craven, Sr., section 14, 160 acres.
Thomas Craven, Jr., section 14, 80 acres.
Liberty Carter, section 24, 160 acres.
Patrick Galligan, section 12, 80 acres.
William B. Watson, section 2 and 21, 160
acres.
Chandler Coy, section 35, 80 acres.
Benjamin Hicks, section 11, 40 acres.
As a matter of fact, Liberty Carter did not
actually settle upon section twenty-four until
the spring of 1841 ; Patrick Galligan began be-
gan his clearing about the same time on sec-
tion twelve.
The story of further progress of the colony
will be taken up when the history of the village
of Mapleton is given. This village was for
years the center of the life of the little pioneer
community, and its record is full of interesting
items.
As has been stated, the new township was
named Sena, but this name, like that of Wan-
dagon, was not acceptable to the people, and
Mrs. Watson, the wife of Dr. William B. Wat-
son, suggested the name of Duplain, which be-
came the name of the township March 20, 1841.
The Maple river, it will be remembered, was
called by the early French travelers "La Riviere
du Plain," and doubtless the new name was sug-
gested by this.
The township of Greenbush, as it exists at
the present time, borders Duplain upon the east
and Essex on the west, and lies in the northern
tier of townships of Clinton county. Its posi-
tion, as regards the township of Duplain, and
the fact that the Rochester colony settlers lo-
cated themselves upon the Maple river in the
southeastern portion of that township, accounts
for the fact that the settlement of Greenbush
was made at about the same time that the New
York colony entered the township to the east.
On the other hand, as has been stated herein,
Essex township received its first actual settlers
upon section eight in the northwestern region
of the township, and as this township developed,
its settlements extended from the Maple River
village southeastward. In the southern portion
of the present township of Greenbush, the new-
comers encountered a vast area of swamp and
marsh land, which impeded the progress of the
township. It has already been observed that
when John Ferdon, of the Rochester association,
came with Bebee and Baker to the Rochester
colony in 1836, he built his cabin across the
line in Greenbush township on section thirty-six.
Ferdon's land lay in both townships. Ferdon's
residence upon his land in Greenbush was
marked by experiences incident to pioneer life
in a wilderness. This sturdy pioneer earned
a reputation in his day as a great bear hunter.
One story relates that in 1847 Ferdon killed
nine bears aided only by a club and his hunting
dog. It is also stated that Mr. Ferdon brought
a stock of goods with him from the city of
Rochester to his Clinton county home. It was
his policy and practice to employ as many men
as possible in clearing his lands, he having ac-
quired a considerable acreage since his arrival
in the county. From his cabin store-house in
Greenbush, he distributed supplies to the men
in his employ, and thus disposed of his stock
of goods.
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When Stephen Pearl came to Ovid in 1837,
Samuel Rowell accompanied him and remained
for a time at the Lounsbury residence in Ovid
township. Later he purchased thirty acres of
land of John Ferdon on section thirty-six and
took up his residence. It may be stated that
Mr. Rowell lived upon this place until 1876
and that his son, Stephen, still resides upon the
homestead. In 1838, David Richmond and
Thomas Fisk came to Michigan from Stafford,
New York, for the purpose of locating land
for themselves and friends living at the same
place. Not desiring to purchase from specu-
lators, they finally determined to locate upon
land of sections twenty-two, twenty-three and
twenty-seven of what is now Greenbush town-
ship. These sections, it will be noted, lay near
the center of the township, and were at this
early date, isolated from all other Clinton
county settlements. Although the tract was
bordered upon three sides by swamps almost
impenetrable, nevertheless, these parties at once
took steps to secure the title. They thereupon
returned to Stafford, New York, where it was
arranged among those who contemplated mov-
ing to this wilderness, that Thomas Fisk and
others should return to Greenbush and make
preparations, build cabins and commence clear-
ings. In April, 1839, Thomas Fisk, G. W.
Reed, Ora B. Styles, James Styles, Jr., and
Henry Fisk, began their journey. They traveled
the entire distance by ox teams by way of
Canada. After their arrival the tedious work
of erecting cabins and making clearings began.
Before their first cabin was completed, the
families of David Levy, W. N. Daggett, James
Styles and Thomas Fisk arrived. This group
had come by the water route, by Detroit, and
had traveled over the Grand river road by teams
to a point near Laingsburg, and from there they
followed the path made by the Dexter colony
settlers, and reached John Ferdon's place in
May, 1839. A few days later, this community
was reinforced by David Richmond and Alvah
Richmond and their families.
It must be remembered that the route from
the Ferdon settlement to the Fisk settlement in
Greenbush was a most difficult one to travel.
As has teen said, "the better part of that two
miles or more, lay through a dismal swamp."
This region could not be traveled by teams, and
to cross it on foot was a most perilous under-
taking for the settlers, and it was with great
difficulty that the household goods and supplies
of these newcomers were transferred from Fer-
don's place to the interior. Their cook-stoves
caused these pioneers all sorts of trouble, this
party fortunately possessing four of these neces-
sary articles.
After the cabins had been built and the set-
tlers with their families located, the work of
clearing began in earnest. The Richmonds
owned two teams of horses and Thomas Fisk
one team of oxen. The horse teams were used
in hauling the goods of the settlers from De-
troit to the edge of the great swamp. The
difficulties in crossing the swamp being of such
serious proportions, this team was compelled
to make a trip of twenty-two miles by a cir-
cuitous route through the township of Essex to
the settlement, in order to avoid its perils. Be-
cause of the isolated situation of this settlement,
the work of making roads, permitting com-
munication with the colony settlement was the
first important undertaking. A foot-path was
made across the swramp, which was available
during the summer season, and when winter
came this route was traveled with teams. A
highway was cut from the southeastern corner
of section twenty-two westward, for a distance
of two miles. For their first grist, they bought
wheat of Benedict, the Essex pioneer, and were
compelled to go to Ionia to have their grists
ground. The first trip made was by David
Levy, who employed an Indian to manage the
canoe, the journey being made overland to the
Maple Rapids settlement, and from there by
way of the Maple river. Alvah Richmond went
to mill at Eaton Rapids in 1839 with an ox
team.
The progress of this settlement was neces-
sarily slow. For years there was no black-
smith in the community and many journeys
were made by these settlers to DeWitt. A
postoffice was established in 1843. Before that
time these pioneers received their mail at
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Owosso and Laingsburg. It will be remem-
bered that a grist mill was established at the
colony at an early date, and the first contribu-
tion this mill received from the Greenbush set-
tlement, was that of a single bushel of wheat
carried by Henry Fisk across the dismal swamp.
In the autumn of 1839, Nathan Spooner, Tru-
man Watson and Moses Philips came to the
Greenbush settlement, and John Avery and
Horace Avery, together with Herod and Runa
Morton and Marvin Greenwood, .established
themselves in the southwestern part of the town-
ship, and Edwin Holbrook located on section
thirty-six. In the fall of 1840, the north-
eastern part of the township received a settler
in the person of John I. Tinkelpaugh, who set-
tled near the site of Eureka village. Joseph
Russell, one of the early Bingham pioneers, re-
moved to Greenbush in 1841, and was joined
in 1842 by his son, William, and in 1843 by
his son James. In 1852 James Russell, the
pioneer, was accidentally shot by his son,
Nathaniel.
In 1849 a party of ten men, the possessors
of Mexican war land warrants, started from
Ohio to locate lands in Michigan. George
Wagner of the party was the only Mexican war
veteran of the group, the rest of the party hav-
ing acquired their land warrants by purchase.
But three of this party had horses, and the re-
maining seven made the entire journey of three
hundred miles each way on foot. Nine of this
party bought lands in Greenbush and made set-
tlements thereon, one of the ten settling in
Essex. Henry Smith, of this group, built his
house on section nine in November, 1849. At
this time, as Smith himself stated, there was
no house between himself and Mackinac. In
1850, section seventeen, then a wilderness, was
invaded by William Thomas. On the line of
the township on section five, Nathan Russell
built a cabin, the first one erected in this re-
gion. In 1852 Benjamin Doty settled upon
the Russell tract with his family. This loca-
tion was absolutely devoid of roads and was a
most desolate one. At the same time, J. W.
Bryant located upon section six, and thus
gradually, one by one, the list of settlers in-
creased, and by their combined efforts roadways
were opened and communication established
with other sections.
In the month of May, 1833, Judge Samuel
W. Dexter, after a tedious journey through
Oakland and Shiawassee counties, along the
Pontiac and Grand River route, invaded the
Clinton county wilderness. The Dexter colony
which traveled this route, consisted of sixty-
three persons, being made up of several families.
They traveled by means of wagons and brought
with them oxen, cattle, swine and other domestic
animals preparatory to founding a settlement.
Guided by B. O. Williams, of the Shiawassee
trading post to the Indian village of DeWitt,
they there enlisted the services of Mackatapen-
ace, the son of a Saginaw chief. From DeWitt
the party took a northwestern course through
the territory of what are now Riley, Bengal
and Dallas townships, and from there along
the south bank of Stony creek to Ionia county.
As has been already told in this narrative, on
section thirty-one of Bengal, on the farm of
Judge Cortland Hill, a child of Judge Dexter
was buried.
The route opened by the Dexter colony be-
tween DeWitt and Lyons, in Ionia county, was
thereafter known as the "Dexter Trail, " and
was an important route of travel for several
years. Cortland and Lucinda Hill, husband
and wife, of Cortland county, New York, were
the first settlers in the township, locating on a
one-hundred-and-sixty-acre tract on section
thirty-one. The route followed by these
pioneers from their New York residence was as
follows : From Syracuse by canal-boat to Buf-
falo, from there by steamboat to Detroit; in
Detroit two teams were hired at an expense
of one hundred dollars to move them and their
household goods from Detroit to Scott's place
at the present site of DeWitt. Two Ionia par-
ties, who had entered one hundred and sixty
acres of land on section thirty-one in Bengal,
met Mr. Hill at this point, and he purchased
this land from them at two dollars per acre.
Engaging the services of a woodman to precede
him and construct a log cabin, the Hills ob-
tained the services of ox-teams and wagons be-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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longing to Captain Scott, and thus transport
their goods and chattels to their wilderness
home. In reaching their destination they
traveled the state road and the Dexter trail,
which was barely passable for wagons. They
reached their log cabin in the wilderness on
the 26th day of September, 1837. This struc-
ture was eighteen feet in length by fourteen feet
in width. The floor was of white ash. They
had fortunately brought with them a window
sash and glass, which was at once made a part
of their cabin. The boards from the boxes in
which their goods had been carried were
utilized in making the door. Having brought
a cook-stove with them, the customary fire-place
was not made. Two years later they built a
more commodious log house. Cortland Hill ar-
rived on section thirty-one upwards of four
years after the Dexter colony of pioneers had
passed through Bengal township. The grave
of the pioneer's child, who was buried upon sec-
tion thirty-one, upon what was now the property
of Mr. Hill, could be observed by the new set-
tlers. In order to protect it from the wolves,
a pen of logs had been built around and over
the little mound, and for years after Mr. Hill's
arrival the burial spot had not been violated.
B. O. Williams, the trader, has left the fol-
lowing account of that incident. "At that point
(Muskrat Creek), a son of Mr. and Mrs. Dex-
ter, a child about two years old, died of scarlet
fever. We buried the child by torch and can-
dle light in a box improvised by the party. I
shall never forget that scene; the whole fam-
ily, and most, if not all others, in tears; the
gray-haired sire, after inviting the heads of
other families to lead the exercises of the
mournful occasion, with tears streaming down
his cheeks, read a burial service amid sobs that
nearly drowned his voice, in that deep, dark
forest, the gloomiest spot of the whole route."
The struggle began in earnest. The soil of
Bengal, although extremely fertile, was very
heavily timbered, and at this time the Hill set-
tlement was absolutely isolated. The forests
were full of wolves and other enemies of the
settlers, and their presence made the work of
rearing domestic animals more than difficult.
As has been seen, land in Bengal township was
of little value at this time, for there were few
buyers, and from 1837 to as late as 1850, Ben-
gal was considered the wilderness of Clinton
county. Clinton J. Hill was born on the Hill
homestead in 1838. In the fall of the year
following the arrival of the Hills, William
Drake and family established themselves on
the west one-half of the west one-half of sec-
tion thirty, to the north of the Hill settlement.
In 1837 Adam Laughlin, who came from Ash-
tabula county, Ohio, in 1836, settled in Oak-
land county, Michigan, purchased from David
F. Farley the east half of the northeast one-
quarter of section twenty-six of Bengal. In
order to make a payment on his purchase, he
agreed to clear ten acres for Farley on the
same section and began his work in the winter
of 1837. The first thing he did was to fell a
large beech tree, which stood on the corner of
his tract. Using this as a back-log for his
campfire, he remained in the open air three
nights, being engaged during the day-time in
erecting a log cabin on the land he was to make
the clearing upon. He completed his work and
returned to Oakland County, and in January
of 1840 returned with his family to Bengal
township, and took up his residence in the
cabin he had constructed three years before.
In the following spring he built another house.
Charles Grant, once of Wyoming County,
New York, came to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in
1836, and from there proceeded to Mason,
Ingham County, where he erected the first
saw-mill at that point; then to Lyons, Ionia
County, where he helped to build the first
bridge across the Grand River at that place.
He then returned to his native county in New
York and returned, bringing his wife, to Lyops
in 1838, and there remaining until 1840, when
he settled on the south one-half of the north-
east quarter of section four in Bengal, several
miles north of the Hill settlement. He built a
frame house, which was the first of its kind in
the township. In 1849 he moved to the south
half of the north-west quarter of section three,
taking his frame house apart and moving it to
his new location. There were no roads leading
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
to this part of Bengal at that time, and this
pioneer traveled by a blazed trail. This pio-
neer was a veteran of the war of 1812.
Miner R. Frink, one of the Bengal pioneers
living at the present time, settled on section
three of that township in 184 1. His first
dwelling house was built of split logs, covered
with a board roof. Jonathan Young ar-
rived in Wayne County from Yorkshire, Eng-
land, in 1834. Here he married Mrs. Hannah
Green, who had on May 12, 1837, entered
two hundred acres of land on section three of
Bengal. In 1841 Mr. and Mrs. Young settled
upon this tract. In October of 1842, Ira S.
Thornton and family moved from Oakland
County to sections twenty-four and twenty-
five in Bengal. During the same year Lyman
Swagart, of Broome county, New York, settled
on section twenty-eight. Benjamin F. Knee-
land and wife came to section three in Bengal
from Genesee county, New York, in the fall of
1843. Their first house was considered at that
time to be a fine structure. It was built of
hewed logs and had a shingle roof, matched
floors, brick chimneys and paneled doors, and
was lighted by windows. The first steam saw-
mill in the township was put in operation by
Mr,. Kneeland in 1856.
Harrison Sutton arrived on section twenty-
one in Bengal in 1846, and the next year An-
drew Weller moved with his family from
Geneseo, New York, and settled on section
two in the month of October.
The first post-office established in Bengal
was in 1850 with Cortland Hill as postmaster.
The first highway through the township was
the DeWitt and Lyons road, following
substantially the Dexter trail, made in
^33, which entered the township on sec-
tion thirty-one. The swift progress of
this township, considering the situation at
the time of its settlement, has been re-
markable. In 1847, ^e number of .inhabit-
ants was only forty-nine; in 1854 it had three
hundred and fifty; in i860 the number had in-
creased to six hundred and thirty-eight; there
being one hundred twenty-nine families; one
hundred forty-eight dwellings and ninety-nine
occupied farms; in 1864 there were seven hun-
dred six inhabitants; in 1870 one thousand
eighty-six; in 1880 one thousand two hundred
ninety-five; and at the present date this town-
ship is thoroughly developed, and is one of the
most populous, productive and prosperous sec-
tions of the county.
We now return to the southeastern part of
Clinton County. The settlements respectively
of the, region now known as the township of
DeWitt in 1833, of Eagle in 1834, of Water-
town in 1835, and of Bath in 1836, have al-
ready been noted. In the summer of 1836, be-
fore Ira Cushman had brought his family to
the township of Bath, Welcome J. Partelo had
begun a clearing upon section thirty-one in the
southwest portion of what is now Victor town-
ship. This locality contains some lowlands and
marsh areas on the west, and a few areas of
hilly surface in the east. Generally speaking,
the soil of this region is exceptionally produc-
tive. The Looking Glass in its westward course
runs through the southern part of the town-
ship. In the early days, oak openings abounded
in this section of the county. As has been said,
W. J. Partelo moved into this country in the
summer of 1836, which was thfen a part of the
township of DeWitt. This pioneer suffered
the misfortune of locating upon the land of
another instead of his own. However, he was
able to adjust the matter with the owner of the
property he had improved. Following Part-
elo, Robert G. McKee, who had in 1836 lo-
cated land upon sections twenty-five, thirty-
five and thirty-six of this township, made a
settlement in 1837, and began his improve-
ments. Mr. McKee was subsequently promi-
nent in the affairs of Clinton County. This pio-
neer came from sturdy Vermont stock. At
the time mentioned, he was unmarried. He
was a surveyor by profession and followed this
pursuit after locating in Clinton County. In
June, 1837, William Swarthout, John Parker
and Jesse Jamison, came to Victor. Swarth-
out's land was located on section twenty-three.
These pioneers, accompanied by their families,
reached Detroit from Seneca County, New
York. The heads of the respective families, leav-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
485
ing the women and children behind, moved on
from that point to section twenty-three of Vic-
tor. Swarthout's two sons, Isaac V. and Lay-
ton, were included in the group. By their
joint labors, a cabin was erected upon section
twenty-three, when Swarthout returned to De-
troit and brought to Victor the families whom
these pioneers had left behind. After their ar-
rival, a house was built for the Parker family
on section fourteen; finally Jamison had a
shanty prepared on section twenty-two.
As has been stated, R. G. McKee was a sur-
veyor, and his wanderings about the new cnv^ -
try in following his vocation, brought him in
familiar relations with the Indian inhabitants
of Clinton and adjoining counties, and was
esteemed by them as their friend and bene-
factor. Jamison, who settled upon section
twenty-two, was a blacksmith, and soon ac-
quired an excellent reputation among the set-
tlements. His services were invaluable to the
pioneer farmers who needed plow-points re-
placed and rude implements repaired. Moses
Smith, a blacksmith, soon built a shop on sec-
tion two, and later one was opened at Round
Lake by John Runciman.
In the fall of 1838, William W. Upton and
James Upton entered upon section ten, put in
four acres of wheat, and began the building of
a log house. After this small improvement, the
Uptons returned to the East, the former sub-
sequently returning to Victor. In the month
of February, 1839, D. H. Blood, with his fam-
ily, took possession of the claim on the Upton
land and began a clearing on section thirteen.
This settler for the first, was forced to go to
Shiawasseetown to the grist mill, after first
going to Scott's place at DeWitt and obtaining
his grist, the time required being at least three
days.
In 1838 Joseph Simpson began a clearing
upon the land of D. T. Cotes, on section four-
teen. Cotes aided in the clearing of a three-
acre field and then returned to the East, re-
turning to Victor and settling there in 184 1.
John Runciman, who opened a blacksmith
shop on section twenty-eight on the Grand
River road, soon grew discouraged and re-
turned to New York. He sold his Victor prop-
erty to John Miller, who beheld his purchase
for the first time in 1844. To his disappoint-
ment he found no clearing at all, instead of the
fifteen-acre improvement which had been
promised to him. He found the log cabin on
the place totally unfit for habitation and was
compelled to seek shelter beneath the roof of
Walter Laing, a son of Dr. Peter Laing, the
Laingsburg pioneer. The Jamison settlement
was two and one-half miles northeast, and
that of R. G. McKee, three miles east of the
Miller cabin. The difficulties which the pio-
neers encountered are illustrated by the ex-
periences of the Miller family. On more than
one occasion the head of this household found
it necessary to walk to the cabins of his dis-
tant neighbors to obtain firebrands for the
purpose of renewing his own fire. Later, after
making these journeys until his patience was
sorely tried, he made a diligent search about
the premises and found a piece of flint. That
this section of the county was at that time ex-
tremely wild, is witnessed by the fact that
Miller and his neighbors had more than one
encounter with wild animals that inhabited the
surrounding forests. The year 1843 was a
period of severe trial to many of the settlers.
The settlements had become as yet scarcely
self-supporting. The hard winter before had
rendered the conditions more exacting and pri-
vation and suffering abounded.
Joseph Hollister became a resident of Vic-
tor in 1 84 1, and several years later, in 1847,
his brother, Dr. Isaac F. Hollister, settled in
the township and became the first physician to
locate in Victor. Dr. Aaron McKee was the
second physician to practice his profession in
this township, arriving there in i860.
In 1839, Victor's tax-roll contained the fol-
lowing names:
Thomas Cross, section 2, 147 acres.
Hugh Haggerty, section 11, 160 acres.
R. G. McKee, sections 25, 26, 35, 36, 775
acres.
Joseph Hollister, sections 35, 36, 160 acres.
C. Davis, section 27, 80 acres,
R. Finch, sections 36, 160 acres.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Jesse Jamison, section 22, 80 acres.
John Parker, section 14, 80 acres.
W. J. Partelo, section 31, 245 acres.
Joseph Simpson, sections 13 and 14, 100
acres.
Until 1843, Victor township was included
with that of Bath, within the limits of Ossowo
township. When Victor township was set
apart by legislative act, the first town-meeting
was held "at the school house near Daniel
Blood's/' quoting from the enactment. W.
W. Upton and Daniel Blood had migrated to
this locality from Victor in New York, and,
as one would expect, at their suggestion this
new township was named Victor.
Until July 1st, 1847, the Victor settlers
went to Laingsburg for their mail. In 1846
Henry Post was instrumental in presenting a
petition to the post-office department at Wash-
ington, praying for the establishment of a mail
route between Owosso and Ionia, by way of
the state road. In July of the next year the
route was opened, and Victor has its first post-
master in the person of Hugh Haggerty. The
Geary post-office was opened in 1857, the name
being suggested by an admirer of Governor
Geary, of Kansas.
For many years the Grand River road was
the important highway of this part of Clinton
County, and to the present this road exists,
having been modified in its course from time
to time as the convenience of the residents has
demanded. The first school house where the
Victor children were taught the three "R's"
was a cabin built of bass-wood logs on the
Swarthout farm in Ovid, in 1839. The first
school-house to be erected within Victor's lim-
its was built upon section thirteen in 1840,
Phoebe Laing being the first teacher. At the
town-meeting referred to, after some discus-
sion, the taxpayers voted to raise a school tax
of one dollar for each pupil between the ages
of four and eighteen, the fund so provided to
be used towards the payment of teachers.
Joseph Hollister, who was named above as
one of the Victor pioneers, was a lineal de-
scendant of Isaac Treat, once Governor of
Connecticut. Dr. Isaac Hollister, who was the
second physician to practice his profession in
that portion of Clinton County, was a man of
unusual abilities, and was prominent in public
affairs, representing his district in the state
senate in 1856. James Upton, who came to
Clinton county from Ontario county, New
York, was born in Massachusetts. Elias Up-
ton, his father, was enlisted in the defense of
Boston in the war of 1812; the family was of
Revolutionary stock, as was the Hollister fam-
ily. Ainsworth Reed, another Victor pioneer,
first saw light in Massachusetts. His father,
Nathan Reed, was also a hero of the Revolu-
tion. The McKees were of Scotch origin and
hailed from the Green Mountain State. The
Parker family, who settled in Victor at an
early date, were natives of New York; in 1845
John C. Brunson came to Victor from New
York. His paternal and maternal grandfathers.
Amos Brunson and Benjamin Gass, took part
in the war between the Colonies and mother
England. Of Massachusetts origin, Mr. Brun-
sons' ancestry can be traced to the Mayflower.
These few instances may serve to indicate how
the historic life of Clinton is linked to that of
New England and serve to explain the facility
and aptitude by which the independent, self-
governing, resourceful and courageous pio-
neers from the East adapted themselves to the
new life and established in this wilderness the
educational, religious and civil institutions
known by them before they came.
The pioneer history of Olive township dif-
fers from that of other settlements in Clinton
County. It has no villages, nor has but one
post-office been established within its borders.
In the United States survey, this township is
known as town six north of range one west.
This region once contained considerable marsh
and swamp areas, but the soil is unusually pro-
ductive and the farms thereof generally in a
high state of cultivation. The first pioneers
from the East to settle in Olive selected land
in the northern portion of the township on
sections five, six, seven, nine and ten. This
township was named Olive at the meeting of
the residents thereof when steps were taken to
secure a township organization separate from
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
487
that of DeWitt. The Merrihews having come
from Olive in New York, having the advan-
tage of numbers, at this meeting, were able to
control this matter against the desire of
Orange Ferguson, at whose house the meet-
ing was held, who asked that the new township
be named in honor of his daughter. The town-
ship of Olive was incorporated by act of the
legislature in 1841.
The first settlers of Olive traveled consid-
erably through Michigan before choosing their
location. In October of 1836, Peter Merri-
hew, and Adam Merrihew and John W. Merri-
hew, his sons, reached DeWitt village from
where they were guided through what is now
Olive township. These land-seekers located
eleven eighty-acre parcels upon the sections
above indicated. The families did not arrive
in Michigan until November, 1836, when they
reached Livingston . County from Ulster
County, New York. Ephraim Merrihew, also
a son of Peter Merrihew, came also, with his
family and was the first to begin operations in
Olive, having entered upon section five in Jan-
uary, 1837. Later, in June, 1837, John W.
Merrihew built his house on section five; at
some time during the following month Peter
Merrihew and his son Adam settled in the
township, the former on section five and the
latter on section seven. In 1838 another son,
Benjamin Merrihew, arrived and opened the
first blacksmith shop in Olive on section seven.
Nehemiah Merrihew, the fifth son, subse-
quietly settled on section eight. After enu-
merating the above named members o the
Merrihew colony, it is readily understood how
the Merrihew votes controlled in the matter of
naming the township.
Orange Ferguson also came to Olive in Jan-
uary, 1837, and located upon section eighteen
near Muskrat Lake. This pioneer constructed
the first saw-mill ever built in this township
in 1843. It was made of hewn logs, the iron
materials used in its construction being
brought from Detroit.
In 1835 Alexander Calder purchased land
of Captain Scott, DeWitt' s landlord, on sec-
tion thirty-one of Olive. He brought his fam-
31
ily to DeWitt in the month of May, 1836,
where he was employed by Captain Scott for
one year. In May of 1837, he established him-
self upon his land in Olive, being the first set-
tler to locate in the southwest of that town-
ship. Atwell Simmons settled north of what
is now the DeWitt-Olive town line on section
thirty, in 1837, at least he began a clearing
there, and in 1838 sowed three and one-half
acres of wheat It is said that he harvested
one hundred twenty-six bushels as a result of
this effort.
A son-in-law of Peter Merrihew, Peter En-
nest, having previously selected his location on
section ten, settled in Olive in 1838, his brother
James accompanying him and locating on sec-
tion five. The next year, 1839, Daniel Fer-
guson, a brother of the above named pioneer,
settled on section seventeen. This pioneer, as
will be seen, was county treasurer of Clinton
for one term. During the same year other set-
tlers from New York founded homes in this
township. One of these, Nathan Smith, set-
tled south of the Orange Ferguson place, upon
the road which was then being opened from
DeWitt to Rochester Colony. David G. Wil-
sey settled on section twenty-six, in the year
1839. Lucius Gillett arrived in Olive town-
ship in 1840, when he located on section three.
Gillett claimed to have been the first settler to
locate on the site of the city of Jackson. Some
idea of the progress of settlement in Olive may
be obtained by the following list of tax-paying
residents of the township for 1841 :
Hiram Burgess, section 1, no acres.
Lucius Gillett, section 3, 120 acres.
Peter Ennest, section 10, 80 acres.
John M. Merrihew, sections 9 and 10, 160
acres.
Peter Merrihew, sections 4 and 5, 270
acres.
George A. Merrihew, section 8, 120 acres.
E. S. Merrihew, section 8, 120 acres.
Benjamin Merrihew, section 7, 80 acres.
Isaac L. Austin, section 5, 50 acres.
Ransom Reed, section 7, 232 acres.
Orange Ferguson, sections 7, 8 and 18, 238
acres.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Daniel Ferguson, sections 17 and 18, 120
acres.
H. S. Green, sections 5, 8 and 17, 260 acres.
James Ennest, section 17, 60 acres.
Harvey Alexander, section 31, 160 acres.
Nathaniel Moon, section 32, 80 acres.
George Kinney, section 32, 80 acres.
Nathan Smith, section 20, 120 acres.
Alexander Calder, sections 31 and 32, 120
acres.
Henry Lents, section 20, 40 acres.
Hopkins Lents, section 20, 50 acres.
David G. Wilsey, section' 26, 120 acres.
Peter Lents, section 20, 30 acres.
It will be noticed that at this date but four-
teen out of the thirty-six sections of the town-
ship were settled. There were other residents
of the township in 1841 who had not purchased
land for themselves, or who were not counted
as resident tax-payers. There was always
more or less movement to and from these set-
tlements, even during the pioneer period. In
1844, the number of voters of Olive was forty
— being seventeen residents in excess of the
number of resident tax-payers referred to.
In 1852 section thirty-two received another
family, that of William Dills. R. W. Holly
also located on section twenty-six in 1852. The
number steadily increased and the township
prospered accordingly. Olive was not behind
the other settlements in the matter of provid-
ing public schools, thus perpetuating the policy
of general education adopted by the New Eng-
land colonists at an early date. The Merri-
hew settlement soon had its school, taught
probably by a daughter of Harvey Alexander,
who resided on section thirty-one. In a log
cabin built by Ransom Reed near the Ferguson
settlement, Mary Smith, a daughter of Nathan
Smith, conducted a "subscription school" as
early as 1840. In 1841 steps were taken to
organize the township into school districts.
Pioneer life in Olive had its difficulties and
hardships. The settlers were often compelled
to go to Detroit for supplies. On some occa-
sions flour was obtained at Northville. The
grist mill at DeWitt was erected in 1844, and
bettered conditions for the Olive settlers. The
mill at Rochester Colony was also patronized
by them. The grist-mill at Owosso was visited
by Pioneer Wilsey, who found the trip of
fifty miles very tedious,. In 1838 Benjamin
Merrihew walked to Northville in Wayne
County to procure flour for the settlement.
There he secured twelve barrels of that com-
modity and hired a team to deliver it at De-
Witt. The price of transportation was two
dollars per barrel, the distance being eighty
miles. The flour cost the settlers fourteen dol-
lars per barrel at DeWitt, from which point it
was hauled to the Olive settlers by ox-teams.
The wonder is that these settlers could remain
upon their lands at all under such burdens and
discouragements as beset them.
In 1853 the DeWitt-St. Johns highway was
opened to Lansing as a stage and mail route
from St. Johns to Lansing through DeWitt.
Taverns soon were built along this much trav-
eled route. Myron Wolcott's tavern called
"The Half- Way House" stood half-way be-
tween St. John's and DeWitt. Later a better
structure was built on section seventeen.
Orange Ferguson likewise opened a public
house at Muskrat Lake. South of Wolcott's
place, a Frenchman, J. P. Russell, conducted
"The Traveler's Home." John Huit's "brew-
ery" was near by. John Norris was the
first post-master to handle the mail in Olive.
After the Detroit and Milwaukee reached St.
Johns, the mail route along this highway was
soon discontinued and the sole post-office in
Olive was of the past.
Riley township was formerly a part of
Watertown. In 1841 it was given a separate
existence. The first survey of the township
was made in 1826 by Lucius Lyon, and the
subdivision lines were run by Hervey Parks
and certified to by him on February 12th,
1827. The soil of this area is of the most fer-
tile variety, and today some of the most beau-
tiful and productive farming lands of Clinton
County are to be seen within the borders of
this township. In its primitive state, Riley
was covered by forests of unusual density, and
the task of clearing this land for cultivation
was unusually arduous. The Dexter Trail, to
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
489
which reference has been made heretofore, ran
through the Riley country, from the southeast
corner of section thirty-five in a northwestern
direction through sections thirty-five and
twenty-six, and from there through sections
twenty-two and sixteen, through section eight
to the southwest corner of section five, through
the northeast corner of section six, joining the
state road as it now extends through section
thirty-one of Bengal township. This trail di-
agonally crossed the township from southeast
to northwest. Riley lands were subjects of
speculation as was true of the other townships
of the county.
Atwell Simmons, having first settled in
Washtenaw County from New York, pur-
chased a parcel of land in Riley at the Kala-
mazoo Land Office, July 20th, 1832. After a
journey of nearly a week, begun in November
of 1836, this pioneer and his family traveling
by ox-team and wagon, reached DeWitt,
where they were sheltered at the hospitable
cabin of a DeWitt resident, while their four-
teen by sixteen log house was being built. Sim-
mons began at once the work of making a
clearing, having nearly seven acres of his farm
ready for crops by the following spring of
1837. His first crop was oats and rutabagas,
hardly sufficient to supply a family with the
necessities for one year. In the fall of 1837,
Simmons sowed his first field of wheat, the
usual three and one-half acres. Nearly one
hundred twenty bushels were harvested from
this crop, sown as it was on land but meagrely
prepared, cut by sickle and threshed by the
oxen. This pioneer staid by his undertaking
and succeeded in making a comfortable home
and a productive farm. Mr. Simmons, as
shown by the tax records of 1841, held one
hundred sixty acres of land on sections twenty-
five and thirty.
Reference has been made to Morris Bough-
ton, who came from Elmira, New York, in
1836, with Benjamin Welch, who located in
Dallas. Boughton's land was on section seven
of Riley, the records of 1841 indicating that
he owned a tract of one hundred sixty acres,
During the winter of 1836 he worked at mak-
ing a clearing, and being unmarried, boarded
at Cortland Hill's place in Bengal, it is said,
which statement, if true, either makes Cortland
Hill a settler in Bengal in September of 1836,
or Boughton in Riley, in 1837. It is probably
true that Boughton lived at the Hill place in
the winter of 1837, having entered the county
in November of 1836. Finally our bachelor
pioneer built his cabin and became a settler in
earnest. His famous kettle served as his sole
cooking utensil. Two years later, William
Hayes and his wife, who was Boughton's sis-
ter, came to the county and took their resi-
dence at Boughton's cabin. For a time the
grist-mill at Ionia was the one nearest to the
Boughton place. On several occasions he
hauled his wheat to the Detroit market and
sold it for fifty cents per bushel. Boughton re-
turned to his native state in 1843 and was mar-
ried to Lucretia Culver, and returning to Riley
with his wife, remained an influential and re-
spected citizen to the day of his death in 1876.
In 1 84 1 Philip P. Peck, with his family, and
John Gunn, Mrs. Peck's father, ended their
journey from Tecumseh at Boughton's clear-
ing. The cabin first built by Boughton, he
having later erected a more comfortable one,
was at once utilized by these new-comers. Peck
worked some of Boughton's land for a time
until he could make a clearing on his own
which lay near. Finally he built a cabin six-
teen by twenty feet in dimensions, having a
"shake roof," a floor of split timber hewn to a
rude smoothness, and a fire-place made with a
back and hearth of clay and a chimney of
sticks plastered with clay. In 1844 Peck pre-
pared to build a frame barn by hauling lumber
from the Ferguson saw-mill at Muskrat Lake
on sleighs, the route being marked by blazed
trees. The carpenter who did the building was
paid in maple sugar — twelve pounds per day.
The "raising" occurred in April, settlers
within a radius of ten miles taking part.
Twenty persons were present at the festivities
— quite a company for those days in Clinton
County.
In 1841 Philip Peck's brother with his fam-
ily, came from Tecumseh and began Clintoil
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
County life in Boughton's cabin. His name
was Elkanah Peck. Charles M. Thornton
and family, from Novi, Oakland County, came
to section thirty-four in 1838, and in 1844 ex-
changed farms with his brother, Ezra Thorn-
ton, who moved to Riley, but finally returned
to Oakland. In 1839 Gordon Treat and fam-
ily located on section twenty-eight. Their first
cabin was not weather-proof, but sufficiently
built to exclude wild-cats. In 1841 Gabriel
Cronkite came to Riley from Oakland County.
In 1 84 1 the list of resident tax-payers was
as follows:
Parley Gardner, section 3, 80 acres.
Robert B. Gardner, section 3, 40 acres.
Morris Boughton, section 7, 160 acres.
Charles Kellogg, section 14, 160 acres.
Atwell Simmons, sections 25-30, 140 acres.
Henry Williams, section 27, 160 acres.
Lloyd Worth, sections 27-28, 240 acres.
Gordon Treat, section 28, 80 acres,
Francis Francisco, sections 33-34, 60 acres.
Gabriel Cronkite, section 34, 40 acres.
J. J. Cronkite, section 34, 40 acres.
Nathan Case, section 34, 60 acres.
S. W. Cronkite, section 34, 80 acres.
Charles M. Thornton, sections 34-35, 240
acres.
Robert McFall, section 35, 70 acres.
Elisan Campbell, section 35, 10 acres.
Nathan Reed, section 36, 160 acres.
It may be noted from the above that in
184 1 the majority of the settlements were in
the southwestern portion of the township. In
1844 the number of resident tax-payers had in-
creased from seventeen to twenty-seven.
The first town-meeting in Riley was held at
the house of Charles M. Thornton in April,
1841, as required by the act of the legislature
organizing the township, approved March
15th, 184 1. The early records of the town-
ship were destroyed by fire on July 1st, 1841.
At the town-meeting of 1842 there were
twenty-four votes cast.
Riley had its first public school in a log
cabin first occupied by Washington Cronkite.
One by one, schools were established and
maintained in behalf of the children of the
settlers. The first Riley post-office was es-
tablished in 1855, the second in 1857. This
township did not have a saw-mill until 1875,
when one was built on section twenty-five by
Henry Harlow & Co. In 1874 the Forest Hill
Cheese Company erected its factory on section
seventeen at a cost of two thousand four hun-
dred dollars.
Jonathan Owen, who settled on one hundred
twenty acres of section eighteen in 1845, was
one of the Clinton County pioneers who could
claim for their ancestry a Revolutionary rec-
ord of service in the cause of the colonies. His
father, Col. Jesse Owen, a patriot of the most
genuine stamp, settled in Orange County, New
York, at the close of the war. Philip P. Peck
was born at Danbury, Connecticut, in 1802.
Lyman Hungerford was a native of Oneida
County, New York, his father having been
reared in Vermont. Hungerford purchased in
1836 the northeast one hundred sixty acres of
section thirty-four, to which he came with his
family in 1843.
Westphalia is pre-eminently the German
township of the county. The township is in-
habited by a thrifty and prosperous people,
and although the township is devoted to agri-
cultural interests and pursuits, nevertheless, it
has become one of the most progressive and
wealthy sections of the county. Reference has
before been made to the immigration of people
from Germany to this county, and it is the fact
that the pioneer settlers of Westphalia were
Germans directly from the Fatherland.
In 1836 John Hauses, Anthony Cordes and
Joseph Platte were the first to enter this sec-
tion o»f Clinton County. In the fall of that
year, John Hauses, Joseph Platte, Anthony
Cordes, and William Theilman, natives of
European Westphalia, arrived at Detroit. The
Grand River valley was then regarded as a
favorable country for settlement, and follow-
ing the counsel of a Catholic priest, these per-
sons moved westward. By journeying on foot
by way of the Grand River road the Dexter
Trail, they reached Lyons in Ionia County.
Here the party learned that the lands which
they might be able to acquire upon favorable
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
491
terms, lay to the east. Speculators had gained
control of the more desirable tracts, and this
group of earnest foreigners desired to obtain
lands from the government, rather than to pay
advanced prices to speculators. As conditions
were at that date, the surface of Westphalia
was considered as wet and swampy and of
little value. However, these pioneers desired
principally a location where they might ob-
tain land at moderate prices. After exploring
the country as well as they were able, section
five was chosen by them as the place to begin
a colony. Here they began the operation of
clearing, reaching the locality on September
8th, 1836. They took possession of the whole
section less eighty acres, or five hundred sixty
acres. Hauses, Theilman, Cordes and Platte
here began at once the work of opening West-
phalia to improvement and progress. Theil-
man finally settled upon section seven. All
these settlers, save Hauses, who was unmar-
ried, after building cabins and making small
clearings-, brought their families who had been
waiting at Detroit, to the Westphalia settle-
ment in February, 1837. Hauses built his
cabin and lived a bachelor's life until February
1st, 1840. Early in 1837 Fr. Anthony Kopp,
a Catholic priest, was a welcome addition to
this little community. The life of this pioneer
group was unusually hard. The expense of the
long journey from their European homes, the
fact that they were in a new country sur-
rounded by conditions new to them, contrib-
uted to their hardships. One of the group ex-
pended his last cent in paying for the trans-
portation of his few household goods from De-
troit. In 1837, flour was sold at twenty-one
dollars per barrel at Lyons. The country was
heavily and densely timbered, and these con-
ditions resisted the progress of the settlement
and added to the burdens of these settlers. Fol-
lowing their friends of German Westphalia,
came in 1837 and 1838, Everhard Platte,
Michael Thome, Peter Platte, Anton Platte,
Michael Thoman, Bernard Rademacher, Nich-
olas Matrin and Lorenz Nasman. With this
reinforcement, the future of Westphalia was
assured. In 1839 came Philip H. Martz, Con-
rad Martin, Franz Rademacher, Gottfried Ad-
leman, Mathias Ott, Anthony Hubin, Peter
Arens. In 1840, immigrants from the Rhine
valley, in Germany, among whom were John
Lehman, John Fox, Nicholas Paul, came with
their families to found homes in this new
country, and in the following year they were
followed by a number of families from the
same locality, adding the following names to
the list of Westphalia immigrants : Adam
Fedewa, Jacob Spitzley, John Pung, Mathias
Simons, Theodore Droste, Mathias Schaffer,
Peter Worth, Maurice Fedewa, Anthony Mar-
tin, Peter Wirth, John Smith, John Fox,
Querin Smith, Joseph Bohr, Louis Weber,
Jacob Newman, John Dunnebacker, and oth-
ers. The list of resident tax-payers in 1859
was as follows :
Franz Rademacher, section 3, 80 acres.
Conrad Martin, section 4, 80 acres.
Michael Thomen, section 4, 40 acres.
Gottfried Adleman, section 4, 38 acres.
Anthony Cordes, section 5, 112 acres.
Mathias Ott, section 4, 38 acres.
John Hauser, section 5, 135 acres.
Bernard Rademacher, section 5, 24 acres.
Anthony Kopp, section 5, 80 acres.
Nicholas Martin, section 5, 65 acres.
Joseph Platte, section 5, 40 acres.
Michael Thome, section 9, 80 acres.
A. Huhn, section 10, 40 acres.
Peter Arens, section 9, 40 acres.
James J. McRoberts, section 12, 80 acres.
Philip H. Martz, section 4, 40 acres.
James J. McRoberts, of the above list, came
to Westphalia in 1839, locating upon section
twelve and later moving to Dallas. At about
the same time, David Wells came from Oak-
land County and settled upon section thirty-
six, being the first pioneer to break into the
southern part of the township.
Westphalia was organized separately March
21, 1839. The name of the new township
followed almost as a matter of course, Rev. Fr.
Kopp suggesting Westphalia. The first
town-meeting was held at the house of An-
thony Cordes April 29th, 1839, where An-
thony Kopp was elected as the first super-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
visor. Westphalia received its first post-office
probably in 1850, mail arriving via DeWitt.
When Anthony Kopp, the Catholic priest,
came to the Westphalia community, he began
preparations at once to minister to their intel-
lectual and spiritual needs. Church services
were held in a log cabin; arrangements were
made for instruction of the youth of the little
settlement. Lorenz Nasman and Peter Sewa-
tius, among the first to arrive, were shoemak-
ers ; Joseph Platte was the first to open a store,
which stood on section five. The first black-
smith shop was conducted by Joseph Weaver
on section four. Some time in 187 1 a flouring
mill was built by Frank Noeker. Thus briefly
and imperfectly told is the story of the begin-
nings of this township* — Clfnton County's Ger-
many.
For present purposes Bingham township is
considered apart from the village of St. Johns.
Of the townships of the county, Bingham was
at an early date, among the most unpromising
to the settler. Generally speaking, the sur-
face of the township, seven north of range two
west, was, in 1836 and 1837, a veritable
swamp, with occasional areas of better land.
Although Bingham was tardy in being settled,
on the other hand, its growth and progress has
been comparatively rapid. Swamp and marsh
tracts which were deemed valueless in pioneer
days have been drained at great expense, and
large areas of this waste land of former days
are now under profitable cultivation. The
rapid improvement of this inland and interior
section of the county may in a measure be at-
tributed to the location of the Village of St.
Johns within its borders, and the fact* that the
Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad made this
point a station and distributing center for a
broad scope of country, thus inducing immi-
gration to this village. However, years be-
fore the St. Johns Village was of any conse-
quence, and before the railroad had been sur-
veyed through Clinton, the township received
its first settlers, upon section ten. In the fall
of 1837 Lucius Morton and Herod Morton,
brothers, came from Lenawee County of this
state to Bingham, and erected a log house, the
first in the township. They began a clearing,
and when their supply of provisions became
exhausted, they were compelled to return to
Lenawee. Here, for some reason Lucius Mor-
ton employed Benjamin Finkle and Runah
Morton to go to Bingham and complete the
work of preparing a clearing for settlement.
These parties reached section ten in December
of 1837, and began the work. Thomas Neal,
also of Lenawee, joined them the following
summer. Lucius Morton again appeared in
September, 1838, before his arrival Silas
Parks having settled upon section three and
Joel Bebee on section ten. In the month of
February, 1839, Joseph Russell likewise, from
Lenawee, settled upon section ten. This com-
munity, known as the Morton neighborhood,
was soon reinforced by Charles Simpson, who
located land on section eight; William Silver -
w^ood; John Avery, a native of Connecticut,
who located land in Greenbush in 1838, occu-
pying the Silas Parks place in northern Bing-
ham in 1842; Samuel Gardner, who located
land in northwest Bingham in 1839 and lo-
cated as a settler in 1840. He established
himself near the line of the road running from
DeWitt along Bingham's west line, which
highway became a much traveled route for
land-seekers enroute to Gratiot and other
northern points. Gardner's tavern, named the
Gardner House, was built in the northwestern
corner of section six. Gardner's Corners soon
became a well known point. In 184 1 Stephen
W. Downer, the famous bear-hunter, located
on section twenty. J. R. Hale and Homer W.
Hale followed him in 1846 and 1847; 'ater
came A. O. Huntly and A. Warren. In 1852
Daniel Ridenour located land upon sections
five and six and became a permanent settler.
In this neighborhood Simeon Haynes, who
now resides in the City of St. Johns, Patrick
Whittlesay, Richard Moore, and J. H. Van
Sice came to this neighborhood.
William H. Norris was the first settler to
open the way in southern Bingham. He lo-
cated land upon section thirty-two and became
a resident in 1838. Levi Forst also located
upon section thirty-five, during the same year.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
493
This pioneer was killed by an accident at his
barn-raising in 1844. Among later arrivals to
southern Bingham were Nathan Flint, Wil-
liam Faucett, Ezekiel Lamphere, Norman
Williams, J. N. DeWitt, William Gigler,
George Waldron, O. M. Brooks and L. S.
Conn. In 1844 Joseph Sperry became a set-
tler upon section thirty-four, Christopher Van-
derventer in section thirty-five being his near-
est neighbor.
Bingham received a separate organization in
1839. The first township meeting was held at
the house of Joseph Sever in 1839. It must
be borne in mind that this township was once
a part of DeWitt, and that by the organic act
of 1839 above referred to, Bingham township
included the present townships of Ovid, Bing-
ham, Greenbush and Duplain, Ovid and Sena
(now Duplain) being detached in 1840, and
Greenbush in 1842. Bingham's pioneer school
was in charge of Mary Smith, daughter of Na-
than Smith, the Olive pioneer, and was held
at first in the abandoned cabin of Silas Parks.
The families of Lucius Morton, Silas Parks and
Benjamin Finkle were the patrons at this time.
Orpha Fisk followed Mary Smith as teacher
of this school, and after Lucinda Richmond
taught a school at the house of Lucius Morton
who had built an addition to his residence to
accomodate the school. Morton engaged Miss
Richmond's services at one dollar per week
and levied a per capita tax upon the pupils in
attendance.
It has not been, nor is it, the design of this
chapter of this narrative to present a chrono-
logical list of the settlers that entered Clinton
County. Such a work would be an impossi-
bility within the scope of this history. The ob-
ject has been to briefly review the first settle-
ments as they were made here and there by
individuals, families or groups, as the case
might be, and thus indicate who the first set-
tlers were, whence they came and what
routes they traveled. As has been seen, the
first settlements were made in the northern and
southern portions of the county, and often in
the western parts thereof, although the pio-
neers came from the eastward. The presence
of the Grand River as a route upon the south,
and the Looking Glass in the same region, in
a measure accounts for the immigration routes
followed as hereinbefore indicated. The set-
tlers followed the paths of least resistance in the
first instance, and those after them naturally
adopted the routes and localities of their pre-
decessors. In the north, the fact of trading
posts existing in the Saginaw country had its
influence. Many explanations of less general
application might be given as to specific cases,
as to why settlements were made in particular
localities. The machinations of land specula-
tors, the personal choice and prejudice of a
land-seeker, these could be counted in among
the causes which controlled. However, the
line of immigration through the northwest has
always been generally directly westward, and
a thousand causes might be enumerated which
influenced the history of Clinton County's set-
tlement.
EARLY VILLAGES OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Throughout the settlements in Clinton
County, villages were platted here and there in
the early days. A number of these became
flourishing communities and soon developed
into centers of commercial, political and social
life in the county. While it is true the history
of these villages was in every instance a coun-
terpart of that of the settlements which have
been reviewed, on the other hand, they present
a phase of pioneer life peculiar to themselves
and deserve separate notice.
The township of DeWitt at a very early
date contained the villages of Middleton, New
Albany and DeWitt. Sites were selected along
the Looking Glass River at most favorable
points, and the first of these was Middleton,
sometimes called "Middletown." The pro-
prietors of the tract platted for the purposes of
this village, were Sebastian Beckwith, Joel
Wickes and George J. Goodhue. The land
platted lay on the north side of the Looking
Glass and east of the present village of DeWitt,
and may be more particularly described as the
north fraction of the northwest one-quarter of
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494
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
section nine and the southwest quarter of sec-
tion four. After being surveyed in 1836, the
original map of this village was filed in Febru-
ary of the same year. The plat divides the
prospective village into eighty-six lots of one
and three-fifths acres each. Block thirty-six
was reserved for a public square. Each block
contained eight lots, which were in dimensions
four by eight rods. Streets were named as
follows: Huron, Superior, Ontario, Detroit,
Erie, Michigan, Mason, St. Joseph, Mill and
Ionia. The above named streets as platted ex-
tended north and south, while the east and
west streets were named as follows : Quay,
Toledo, Chicago, Maine, Clinton, Monroe, Jef-
ferson and Washington. But in spite of all
this, the village of Middleton never material-
ized, and in 1842 the lots thereof were sold for
unpaid taxes to Milo H. Turner, David Stur-
gis, Hiram Stowell, W. H. Case and W. A.
Hewitt.
The village of New Albany made better
progress than did Middleton, and the plat of
this village was probably the first one made for
any village in the county. Hiram F. Sheldon,
of Cleveland, Ohio, owned the land covered by
this plat. In 1836 he disposed of his inter-
ests to George T. Clark, of Albany, New York.
The land upon which this village was situated
is described as the south fraction of the north-
east one-quarter of section eight, containing
one hundred seven and eighty one-hundredths
acres; certain reservations being made for
Sheldon. Milo H. Turner was the agent of
George F. Clark and managed this property.
This village was divided into twenty-nine
blocks and some lots were sold. In 1840 this
property was advertised and sold for unpaid
taxes. Milo H. Turner secured fifty-five lots,
David Sturgis, five; Seth P. Marvin, two; J.
T. Turner, two; William E. Turner, one; and
George F. Clark, one. The last sale of this
property was made in 1848.
In referring to the village of DeWitt, dis-
tinction must be made between the old village
of DeWitt and the village as it exists today.
The plat of old DeWitt was offered for record
January 2nd, 1837. The land upon which the
village was platted was owned by Frederick
Boles and was surveyed on December 12th,
1836 and was platted by Dr. Bennett and J,
M. Wilcox. The map of the plat contains the
following: "All lots are (4) rods wide and
eight rods deep, except on blocks five, six and
seven, which are 4 rods by 5 deep, and the
water-lots and other fractions are variable in
depth. This plat contains, according to the
original surveys, one hundred ninety-seven and
fifty-four one-hundredths acres. All streets in
the plat are four rods wide and intended as
public highways, and the timber in the same at
the proprietors' service, if required; if not, the
buyers of lots are to have it. Lots No. 3, 4,
in block No. 51, and lots No. 3, 4, in block No.
54 are given for the firm established church
in said plat, and also named Public Square
for public purposes; and all other lots in the
proprietor's name for his own use. Frederick
A. Boles, proprietor."
This village was situated east of New
Albany and lay south of the Looking Glass.
Streets were named as follows : Newton,
Wayne, Maine, Park, Hall, Lyon and Lynn,
and parallel with the river, River, Wall,
Spring, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison,
Brighton, Church, Summer, Green, St. Anne's,
Katharine, St. Mary's and Frederick.
The village of DeWitt, south of the Look-
ing Glass river, became the property of the
state of Michigan for the taxes of 1842. The
tax on each block ranged from ninety-five cents
to one dollar and twenty-four cents. It will be
observed that the village of DeWitt referred to,
passed out of existence at an early date.
The land of Captain Scott, whose settlement
in DeWitt township has been mentioned, was
platted by him October 26th, 1841. This tract
was situated on the north side of the Looking
Glass river on sections five and eight, and the
village there situated for a considerable time
was the center of civic and public life in Clinton
county. It was the county seat of Clinton until
1857. In 1839 Captain Scott erected a frame
building for the purpose of a store-room and
grocery, and the first sessions of the county
court of Clinton county were held at this place.
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A school-house was built at the site of the
present building in 1840. Court was held in
this public building and the board of supervisors
often met here. In 1842 Captain Scott erected
the first hotel, which building was utilized fre-
quently for public meetings of various sorts, and
was utilized as a court house, small buildings
having been built for county offices. Captain
Scott soon received a commission as postmaster
of DeWitt, the postoffice being kept at his house.
The first sawmill in the county was erected
by Hiram Wilcox in '37, upon the south side
of the Looking Glass, and was in running order
in 1838. An accident occurred in this connec-
tion which is worthy of mention. This saw-
mill was an object of interest and curiosity on
the part of the settlers, and one Sunday after-
noon, after the mill had been put in shape for
operation, a number of these settlers visited the
mill and asked that the machinery be started.
Sylvester Scott, a son of Captain Scott, was at
the time examining the machinery, and placed
himself in jeopardy, and when the power was
turned on and the machinery started in motion,
Sylvester Scott was instantly killed.
Milo H. Turner, as agent of George T.
Clark, arrived in 1838, bringing with him a
stock of goods which he offered for sale. He
erected a log house and opened the first store in
the village of DeWitt. He leased the saw-mill
of Hiram Wilcox and built a large frame struc-
ture which was devoted to the uses of a hotel.
Jesse Foot Turner, a brother of Milo H.
Turner, arrived the following year. In 1844
the Turner brothers erected on the Looking
Glass river, a grist mill. These brothers were
men of great activity and remained identified
with the interests of the township and county
until 1850, when the gold fields of California
lured them to the Pacific coast. George T.
Clark later became a resident.
David Sturgis came from Portland, Ionia
county, in 1840 with a stock of goods, as agent
for a Detroit firm, and built the first store on
the north side of the river. He afterward built
an ashery and remained in DeWitt until 1850,
when he removed to St. Johns, and later to
Gratiot, after having been at one time associate
judge of the county court.
For many years the distinction accorded to
DeWitt as the center of the judicial business of
the county, attracted many representatives of
the bar and DeWitt became the center of legal
talent of the county. The uncertain tenure by
which DeWitt maintained its prestige as the
county seat, offered strong obstacles against
the erection of county buildings, and on the oc-
casion of the removal of the county seat to St.
Johns, not a building of importance had been
devoted to county uses. This also materially
influenced the growth of the village and has
effectually checked the development of its busi-
ness interests since 1857, when the county seat
was removed to St. Johns.
In 1838 Riley J. Woodruff, now a venerable
justice of the peace of St. Johns, came with his
parents to DeWitt. Mr. Woodruff states that
at that time, on the north side of the Looking
Glass, there stood a log blacksmith shop and
a log hotel, and a large granary and horse-barn.
Captain Scott owned the property at the four
corners of what is now DeWitt village. Eighty
rods east of these corners, on the Grand River
road, was a log house, and to the west of the
location of the hotel, a son of Captain Scott had
his log dwelling. Across the river, at the site
of New Albany, stood a single log house. At
this time the Grand River road was the only
highway through the state from Detroit to
Grand Rapids and the land office at Ionia, and
consequently was a much traveled route. Money
from the Ionia land office was carried to De-
troit by way of DeWitt, in a wagon, drawn by
horses and guarded by soldiers. At DeWitt the
boxes of money wrere frequently unloaded and
placed in the bar-room of the hotel, where, sur-
rounding the treasure, the soldiers lay down for
the night's rest, guarding the boxes.
The Scott road, as it was then called, ex-
tended northward from DeWitt, crossing the
site of the court house square at St. Johns, and
from there pursued a more or less devious
course to Rochester colony, and from there ran
to Flint in Genesee county. Captain Scott, of
DeWitt, blazed a trail to Flint, where he ob-
tained lumber for his hotel referred to, and this
became a favored route joining the settlements
at Rochester colony and DeWitt. In 1849, Mr.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Woodruff and others went by this route to
Rochester Colony to repair the mills there, the
erection of which has already been mentioned.
In those days the saw-mills consisted of a
vertical saw, and under favorable conditions one
saw could cut two thousand feet of lumber in
one day. Circular saws did not make their ap-
pearance in the county until as late as 1850 to
i860.
Referring to the saw-mill at DeWitt which
stood on Prairie creek, this plant was first
operated by a wheel sixteen feet in height, later
a central discharge water-wheel was substituted.
George Scott, who resides a short distance west
of the hotel site in the present village of De-
Witt, is, as Mr. Woodruff claims, the oldest
pioneer of Clinton county. He is a son of Syl-
vester Scott, whose tragic death in 1840 at the
DeWitt saw-mill has been mentioned.
At the present time DeWitt is a healthy vil-
lage with a population of upwards of four
hundred. The Lansing and Suburban Com-
pany's Railway connects this point with St.
Johns and Lansing. DeWitt has a bank oper-
ated by Woodruff Brothers, who are engaged in
a general banking, real estate and insurance
business. It has also a custom mill and a cream-
ery. Brazee & Co. conduct a large general
store. Clavey & Brya deal in hardware and
kindred lines. The Sibley Lumber Co. handles
lumber, coal, fuel and builders' supplies. Charles
W. Webb conducts a jewelry store, while
George W. Gross is engaged in the farming-
implement business. The hotel, which has been
improved and remodeled, is called Joe's Tav-
ern, being owned and conducted by J. S. Bard.
This hostelry now has steam heat and electric
lights and a livery in connection, and is a mod-
ern, up-to-date affair.
Reference has been made to the establishment
of the Campau trading post in 1835 near the
Maple river in Essex township. This point be-
came, as has been seen, an important point and
a trading center in northwestern Clinton. No
steps were taken toward the incorporation of
a village until as late as 1852, when William
A. Hewitt purchased two hundred and forty
acres of land of Solomon Moss et al. This
party began the construction of a dam and
saw-mill on the Maple, which saw-mill was in
running order in 1853. The building was en-
larged five years later and a grist-mill added.
Finally the saw-mill machinery was removed
and the flouring mill capacity increased. This
mill was in operation in 1878, but having been
damaged seriously by high water, has been idle
since.
A village was platted by this enterprising
pioneer in 1853, when he established a store
near his mill. Later he built a hotel and was
appointed postmaster. Upon his death in 1863,
his son, Isaac Hewitt, succeeded to the manage-
ment of a considerable estate. In 1864 Mr.
Isaac Hewitt erected a sawT-mill operated by
steam and carried on a lumbering business of
considerable magnitude. In 1855 a school-
house was erected and remained in use until
1870. One of the first teachers of the Maple
Rapids school was Rev. Elisha Mudge, now a
minister of the Christian church. Mr. Mudge
still remains a resident of Clinton county, and
follows his chosen calling, and has been
identified in years past with the public life of
the county and has exercised considerable in-
fluence on the trend of events.
Unfortunately the original plat of the village
was never recorded, and in 1867 a new survey
was made and the plat completed. As has been
seen, Maple Rapids, to the present date, has no
railway, although several attempts have been
made to obtain one. The banking business of
Solomon P. Creasinger was established in 1875.
It is said that the banking building erected by
this party in 1874 cost him six thousand one
hundred and thirty dollars. At the present
time Hewitt and Groom operate a private bank
and do a considerable business in commercial
lines. Maple Rapids had a newspaper as early
as 1874, called the "Maple Rapids Messenger,"
which lived until January, 1878. On October
26th, 1878, the "Maple Rapids Dispatch" was
established, and this sheet is still published.
While it is not necessary, nor the purpose of
this narrative, to give a minute list of the sepa-
rate industries of the county, it may be stated
in a general way that the business interests of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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Maple Rapids have gradually increased. At
the present time it has a flouring mill, planing
mill, creamery, bank and a newspaper, a graded
public school, two churches, and is connected by
telephone. As has been seen, it was thought
that the electric line which now operates be-
tween Lansing and St. Johns, would be ex-
tended northward through Maple Rapids and
surveys were made and subscriptions raised for
this purpose, but to the present time, the Maple
Rapids and St. Johns stage line is the only
means of transportation between Maple Rapids
and the county seat.
Duplain village or Rochester Colony has
practically passed out of existence as such. The
population at the present time would probably
not exceed one hundred persons. Nevertheless,
at one time, as has been seen, Rochester Colony
was an important center in northeastern
Clinton.
The village of Mapleton was platted by Ed-
ward R. Everest, the agent of the Rochester
Colony, in 1837. In 1840, as has been before
stated, a saw-mill and grist-mill were built. A
store was soon opened and the hamlet began to
show signs of real village life. In 1844 Wil-
liam Shepard opened a store and tavern in con-
nection therewith. A store was started in 1852
by Paine and Kipp, and O. M. Pearl, who be-
came a trader in 1850, sold his business to
Faxon & Pearl in 1853. In 1840 Mapleton
had a postoffice. The name of the village was
changed to Duplain during that year. Edward
Everest was the first postmaster. In 1839 the
village of Duplain (then Mapleton) received
its pioneer physician, Dr. William B. Watson,
who continued his professional duties until as
late as 1875. At present, however, little re-
mains of the village of Duplain. The installa-
tion of the rural free delivery system in Clinton
county has, in this case as in the case of several
other small villages, rendered Duplain of less
importance as a trading center.
It may be said in this connection that in 1845
Thomas, Joseph and Robert Craven, who
erected a saw-mill on section ten of Duplain
township, platted a village which never pro-
gressed far enough to receive a name. A store
was opened at this point and later Alpheus
Bebee, a store-keeper who had sold his business,
erected a wagon shop and in 1856 built a tav-
ern. This community soon had its blacksmith
shop and became known as Cravens' Mills. The
Sickles Brothers, who became the proprietors
at Cravens' Mills in 1857, abandoned this point
and platted a village one mile east, and here
we have the birth of the village of Elsie.
At the present time Elsie is one of the most
progressive villages in central Michigan. Ref-
erence has been made to the building of the
Toledo and Ann Arbor Railroad from Owosso
in Shiawassee county north through this vil-
lage. At the present time Elsie has a popula-
tion of about six hundred, which is rapidly on
the increase. The country surrounding this
point is wealthy, and this fact has contributed
considerably to the growth of business interests
at this point. Campbell & Steadman's bank,
established in 1889, is one of the most important
private banking concerns in this section of the
state. Elsie has a flouring mill, saw-mill, plan-
ing-mill, one of the best cheese factories in
Michigan, several churches, two hotels, and a
newspaper, the "Elsie Sun." Hankins Broth-
ers own and operate an elevator on the Ann
Arbor Railroad and transact a business of con-
siderable magnitude as wholesalers of grain
and general produce. Hall Murray, the pro-
prietor of Murray's Tavern, conducts a very
comfortable hostelry. Travis, Baker & Loehrer
operate a wholesale and retail drug business at
this point and N. G. Pearce is the proprietor of
the Corner Drug Store. In fact, almost every
line of retail business represented at this village.
A new public-school building was recently con-
structed.
It will be noted that when Sickles Brothers
platted their new village in 1857 all that ex-
isted was the location. Their plat was described
as "Twenty-six rods wide extending across the
south part of the south-east one-quarter of the
south-east on-quarter of section eleven, and
twenty-six rods wide across the north part of
the north-east one-quarter of the north-east
one-quarter of section fourteen." They named
their village "Elsie" as a compliment to a
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
daughter of Franklin Tillotson. Additions have
been made to the plat by the following persons :
Franklin Tillotson, May 24th, 1858; Jonathan
Hicks, June 23d, 1858; Elijah W. Cobb, July
26th, 1876; Levi Randall and Kingston Wooll,
being associated with Mr. Cobb, June 26th,
1870; and B. D. Hicks, June 23d, 1871.
Sickles Brothers built the first store in Elsie
in 1857 and in 1858 Aaron Sickles and E. W.
Cobb erected a second, and before long all there
was at Cravens' Mills, excepting the mill itself,
moved to this new village. Soon a blacksmith
shop come. In 1858 Farwell & Son, of Detroit,
started a chair factory employing four hands,
which business failed in i860, and one by one
various factories and wood-working industries
were established. The first tavern was built
in 1858 by D. B. Fox some rods west of the
site of the present hotel. Reference has been
made to the cheese factory at Elsie. It was
purchased by M. S. Doyle in 1875, having been
established by Sheldon & Eddy. The first phy-
sician to take his residence at Elsie was Dr.
Taugerson, who came, it is claimed, from
Texas. Dr. Taugerson practised medicine and
lectured on temperance. Dr. E. V. Chase be-
gan to practice at Ovid in 1857, establishing
himself at Elsie in i860.
Several manufacturing enterprises flourished
in Greenbush township in the earlier days, al-
though this township has but one small village
within its borders.
W. T. and R. E. Davies established a fan-
ning-mill factory on section fifteen of Green-
bush as early as 1855, and the Greenbush Fan-
ning-Mill is known all over the State of Michi-
gan. These manufacturers were acquainted
with the fanning-mill business, having been en-
gaged in like employment in the state of New
York. They came to Michigan in 1855 with a
few hundred dollars of capital. They visited
St. Johns and found it to be a place "of logs,
fire heaps, and mud, without a passable road
anywhere/' John Swegles, whose connection
with the village of St. Johns is mentioned else-
where, offered to donate to the Davies Brothers
a tract of land as an inducement for them to
establish their factory at St. Johns. Discour-
aged at the prospect, they refused this offer and
started for Cravens' Mills in Duplain. Stop-
ping over night at Alvah Richmond's place in
Greenbush, and attending a school meeting,
they became acquainted with David Sevey, who
at that time carried on a business of manufac-
turing chairs and spinning wheels on a small
scale. Sevey induced them to locate in Green-
bush and arrangements were made then and
there for the establishment of their factory.
They began business in 1855, on October 5th,
and during that }^ear manufactured one hundred
fanning-mills by hand and sold them as fast as
they could be manufactured. In 1856 the con-
cern made one hundred fanning-mills and one
hundred milk safes. The next year R. E. Da-
vies set out to collect sums due to the firm, and
after one week's effort, returned with just one
hundred dollars. These were bad days in Mich-
igan, as far as financial interests were con-
cerned. Of the sum which Mr. Davies col-
lected at this time all was Michigan paper ex-
cepting one twenty dollar Ohio bank bill, and
these capitalists found that the Michigan cur-
rency had dq^reciated, so that it was worthless
within a few days. In a few years this concern
became exceptionally prosperous, and the busi-
ness increased until as high as five hundred
fanning-mills and two hundred milk safes
were made in one year. At the present time
the firm no longer exists; W. T. Davies being
recently deceased and R. E. Davies now resid-
ing in the city of St. Johns, where he has been
for several years engaged in the harness and
implement business. Reference is made to the
Greenbush fanning-mill factory in this connec-
tion because of the location of the industry in
the vicinity of the village of Eureka.
Greenbush township possessed a manufactur-
ing industry before the founding of the fanning-
mill enterprise. Samuel Rowell and Stephen
Pearl, as early as 1850, began the manufacture
of plows and andirons, on section thirty-six.
Mr. Rowell finally became sole owner of the
business. Stephen Rowell took charge of af-
fairs in 1873 and for some time the Greenbush
foundry manufactured plows, cultivators and
drags and did a considerable business in black-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
499
smithing and general repairing. Stephen Row-
ell still resides upon the homestead on section
thirty-six, and the foundry and machine shop
building remains to this date, a monument to
this early industry.
Reference must also be made in this connec-
tion to the Greenbush Pump Works. In 1864
Leonard Post erected a small building on sec-
tion four and began the manufacture of pumps.
Business increased until 1866, when a more
commodious structure was erected on section
eight. None of these concerns are being car-
ried on at the present time, but each in its day
was a very important factor in the material
progress of Clinton county.
The village of Eureka, lying in sections two
and eleven, of Greenbush township, was platted
in 1857. Avery Chappell had been running a
store and had charge of the Greenbush post-
office at a point nearly one mile west from the
present location of Eureka, the post-office hav-
ing been established as early as 1843. The
Eureka of today has a population of two hun-
dred fifty or thereabouts and has a few indus-
tries, a creamery, wheel-barrow factory, two
hotels and several stores.
The Colonial Hotel, controlled by Grant
Cleveland, is a new brick structure with all
modern improvements, including steam heat, is
lighted by patent gas light, and is an up-to-date
hostelry in every respect. The Eureka Cheese
Company is a prosperous concern. Eureka has
no railroad connections, communication with
St. Johns, the county seat, being by the Eureka
and St. Johns stage. It has five retail stores,
churches, and a graded public school, and all
that this village lacks to make it a very desir-
able location, has been and is, good railway
connections.
In ^55 the proprietor of a mill in Knox
County, Ohio, became possessed of one hundred
sixty acres of land on section fifteen in the
township of Greenbush, and was persuaded to
move his mill to this tract. After making a
tour of inspection, he found a location on section
two, upon Mill Creek, and driving a stake, then
and there declared that he would build his mill
at that place. After buying some additional
land, J. A. Barrington, for that was his name,
hired a man to build a log house and to con-
struct the frame for his mill, and by July 1st,
1856, the mill was in operation. Barrington
returned to Ohio and in 1856 returned to his
Greenbush saw-mill, bringing with him ma-
terial for a grist-mill. This was soon in opera-
tion in connection with the saw-mill, and right
here the idea of a village in that vicinity sug-
gested itself. A few lots were laid out in the
vicinity of the mill, and Joseph H. Morrison
arrived with a small wagon load of goods,
wares and merchandise, and opened a store.
Parsons Jeffreys, Isaac Eagle, G. P. Moore
and M. E. Burrows, land owners in this vicin-
ity, platted the present village; the plat being
recorded on December 17, 1857. The de-
scription contained in the plat is as follows:
"That portion of the south-east quarter of the
southeast quarter of the south-west quarter of
section two, commencing at the quarter-post on
the south side of said section, thence north on
the quarter-line of said section thirty-one rods,
thence west forty-four rods, so as to include a
portion of the stream marked Mill Creek on the
plat of the said village, thence south twenty-two
rods, thence east three rods and eighteen links,
thence south to the section line, thence east to
place of beginning; also that part of section
eleven, commencing at the quarter-post on the
north side of said section, running west twenty-
one rods and one link, thence south thirty-eight
rods and ten links, thence east twenty-one rods
and one link to the quarter-line, thence north to
the place of beginning ; also that part of section
eleven, commencing at the quarter-post afore-
said, thence south on the quarter-line thirty-
eight rods and ten links, thence east forty-four
rods, thence north thirty-eight rods and ten
links to the section line, thence west on the sec-
tion line to the place of beginning."
This community was known by various
names, among which were "Williamsport,"
"Barrington" and "Swizzletown." The last
name was suggested by the idea that the resi-
dents of this village were extraordinarily bibu-
lous in their habits. The name Greenbush was
finally adopted, but later the name Eureka
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
was adopted because the name Greenbush
caused some confusion, there being a village of
Greenbush in another county of the state. "Eu-
reka" was thought to be an appropriate name,
as at that time the residents thought the site
• was an excellent one and prospects were excep-
tionally promising. The mill built by Barring-
ton, Potter and Williams, before referred to,
was destroyed in 1861. Two years later a
new saw-mill and grist-mill were erected by
Barrington.
It has been seen that the township of Eagle
in the southwestern corner of the county was
one of the first to receive settlement. The pres-
ent village of Eagle, however, awaited the
opening of the Ionia and Lansing Railroad re-
ferred to.
When the matter of the construction of this
railroad through Eagle township was receiving
attention George W. McCrumb called a pub-
lic meeting. At this meeting a resolution was
passed offering assistance to the railroad com-
pany, and the Eagle township officers were
afterwards authorized to issue township bonds
in the sum of $9,500.00 at ten per cent, inter-
est, payable in four equal installments, the first
of which were to become due six months after
the completion of the road. This first payment
was promptly met, but before the other three
installments matured, the Supreme Court of
Michigan declared the transaction wherein the
township issued bonds to aid a private enter-
prise, illegal. The bonds meanwhile had been
sold and were in the hands of other parties.
Action was brought against the township to
recover upon these bonds, and ultimately the
township was compelled to pay principal and
interest, amounting to twenty thousand dollars.
George W. McCrumb in 1872 became the
owner of forty acres of land on section twenty-
seven of Eagle, being of the estate of John H.
McCrumb. Jacob Schott added ten acres and
the plat of the village of Eagle was recorded
May 6th, 1873. George W. McCrumb is con-
sidered to be the founder of the village of
Eagle. He built a depot upon his plat at his
own expense. In 1873 Loyal W. Hill built a
store upon this tract and put in a general stock
of goods. This was the first business enter-
prise started in the village. Later John Force
opened a blacksmith shop and McCrumb began
the construction of a building which was later
rented by the firm of Cole & Marsh, who put
in a stock of general merchandise. In 1876
Cole and Fletcher erected a building and
started a hardware store, and a church was
built the same year. In 1879 a hotel was
erected. At a later date a combined saw-mill,
planing-mill, molding factory and feed mill be-
came Eagle enterprises.
At the present time the population of Eagle
is three hundred. The village is twenty-six
miles from St. Johns and four miles from
Grand Ledge in Eaton County. Eddy Broth-
ers conduct a general merchandise business at
present. H. L. Godfrey is engaged in handling
farm implements and general merchandise. E.
C. McCrumb is a hardware merchant; Reed &
Co. operate a planing mill and manufacture
washing machines. The banking business of
Eagle is conducted with the Grand Ledge
banks largely. It has a Methodist Episcopal
church and a Universalist church. Joseph A.
Huntoon also conducts a general store and
John Jenison is engaged in the manufacture of
brooms. It has two evaporators and a feed
mill and saw-mill at the present time.
The village of Westphalia, as it is today, is
platted upon sections four, five, eight and nine
of Wesphalia township. The population is up-
wards of five hundred. The village of Fowler
in Dallas township on the Detroit, Grand
Haven and Milwaukee Railway is the nearest
railway point. Westphalia has a saw-mill,
flouring mill, creameries, a brewery, a private
bank, a Catholic church, and is surrounded by
very fertile and productive farming country
and is one of the wealthiest villages in Clinton
County.
This village was incorporated in 1883. At
the present time Joseph Arens & Co. conduct a
retail store and deal in general merchandise;
W. H. Bohr is a hardware merchant. The
brewery is conducted by P. A. Fritz; Klekmer
and Weaver deal in furniture; Frank Loehrer is
a drug merchant ; Frank Paul is a harness man-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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ufacturer; Anthony Snitgen conducts a general
merchandise business; Spitzley & Rowley han-
dle agricultural implements, vehicles and horse
furnishings; Michael Spitzley is a Westphalia
capitalist and deals in real estate. Saier and
Bast operate a saw-mill, while the Westphalia
Roller Mills are conducted by August Noeker.
The Westphalia Creamery Company and the
Westphalia Evaporating Company are also en-
terprises worthy of mention.
Reference has already been made to the party
of immigrants who came from Westphalia in
Germany, and after a laborious journey from
Detroit, finally took up land in Westphalia
township. The first house built upon the site
of the village of Westphalia w^as built in 1849
by Anton Dunnebacker, the shoemaker. Jo-
seph Platte who had previously started a store
on section five of the township, was the first
trader to move to this village. Platte opened
his store in Westphalia in 1852 and in 1854
John A. Fedewa put in a stock of goods, and
the village began to prosper. Joseph Platte,
John Smith, and Joseph Bohr helped the com-
munity considerably when they erected a saw
mill in 1856. In 1858, a grist mill was es-
tablished. Joseph Platte sold his store to his
son, Joseph, Jr., and Casper Rademacher, in
1854. Platte & Rademacher, in 1862, erected
a new building, and Bernard Rademacher con-
verted their old stand into a tavern. For a
time Platte & Rademacher conducted the only
store in the village. In 1868 this firm dis-
solved partnership, and the latter member built
a brick store, which was soon occupied by
Joseph Arens & Co. Thoma & Arens & Co.
finally absorbed the entire business. The brew-
ery was started in 1861 by Christopher Theil
and carried on until 1866, when Peter Thoma
and Peter Arens purchased the Clinton Brew-
ery which at the present time stands north of
the village. Snitgen & Rademacher opened
a hardware store in 1865, and Joseph
Snitgen had previously carried on the
blacksmithing business in this village. A
boiler of the grist mill exploded in 1868
and destroyed the mill. The saw mill was
rebuilt by William Smith, but the grist-
mill was not erected until 1872, when Frank
Noeker took hold of the enterprise. The West-
phalia postoffice was established shortly prior
to 1850. The township of Westphalia and the
village also are pre-eminently Roman Catholic
communities, and the history of St. Mary's
church and St. Mary's school is worthy of men-
tion and no better account can be given than
that contained in the history of Shiawassee and
Clinton counties, published in 1880, which is
given at length as follows :
"As soon as Anthony Kopp, the priest, joined
the settlers in Westphalia, he founded a church
and school. Kopp had served in the priesthood
in Germany, and in the new field opened before
him in a new world, he engaged at once with
much enthusiastic vigor upon the work he was
called to perform. After Kopp established his
log cabins as church and school, he continued
exercises in both with unfailing regularity, and
when amid the growth of his duties as teacher
and participator in all the affairs that concerned
the community, he found his duties becoming
laborious beyond his capacity, he engaged a
young German, of Detroit, by name Cronus,
to come out and teach the school. Presently,
the priest's log cabin becoming too small for
the increased church congregation, a second and
larger church was built upon the site now oc-
cupied by the pastoral residence. After a time
the second house of worship, like its predecessor,
wras found inadequate to supply places for all
who came, so a third church was built just west
of the other. The new building was capable of
holding three or four hundred people, and the
general opinion seemed that that church at least
would be large enough and remain large
enough, but these calculations, as will be seen,
were greatly at fault. In 1867 ^ became evi-
dent that enlarged church capacity must be pro-
vided, for the congregation had risen in num-
bers to something like one thousand, and so,
upon consultation, it was decided to build, not
only a massive and commodious, but likewise a
magnificent temple, which would be alike a
source of architectural pride and a place where
all who came, although they might number two
thousand, might find shelter and places. The
Bement Public Library
St. Johns, Michigan
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
result was the noble structure which now at the
village of Westphalia touches the clouds with
its lofty spire and remains an object of unfail-
ing satisfaction to those who worship beneath
its roof.
"Anthony Kopp labored among the people six
years and saw that his labors were fruitful in
establishing church and school upon a mature
foundation. Newer and more needy fields then
inviting him, he passed on, and although he
came no more to Westphalia, he cherished his
work there in fond remembrance and watched
its progress with anxious solicitude, and to the
day of his death was in kindly and friendly
communication with the people who remember
him and speak of him reverently and gratefully.
His successor, Reverend George Godez, began
his labors in 1843 a°d continued them un-
interruptedly with the congregation of St.
Mary's church for the space of thirty years, or
until the year 1873, when the infirmities of age
warned him that he was unable to longer per-
form the duties attendant upon his laborious
service, and so, at his own request, he was
transferred to a narrower sphere of action.
Services of thirty years had endeared him to his
people and the severance of the bonds which had
so long bound them, was a painful incident to
both pastor and the congregation. During
Father Godez's time the church made remark-
able advancement and provided, not only the
present church edifice, but the school building
and pastoral residence as well. Father Godez is
still (1880) at the age of seventy-five years,
preaching at Greenfield, Michigan.
"His successors at Westphalia have been Revs.
Trotenberg, Lightner, Reveirth and Her wig.
The first two were in charge of the work for a
brief space, while Rev. Reveirth extended over
a period of five years. Rev. William Herwig,
the present pastor (1880) was called to the
charge from Stony Creek (near Monroe) in
the autumn of 1879. The church edifice, which
was begun in 1867, was completed in 1869,
and although the people contributed considerable
free labor, such as hauling of brick and other
materials, besides rendering minor other
services, the total cost of the structure is said
to have been upwards of seventy thousand dol-
lars. Seven hundred and fifty thousand brick
were used in the construction, and these brick,
as well as those used in the building of the
pastoral residence and the school, were of course,
burned upon the ground. The two latter build-
ings, located near the church, are commodious
edifices and cost about ten thousand dollars
each; the pastoral residence having been built
in 1868 and the school in 1873. The great
wealth represented in the church, school and
parsonage surroundings reaches therefore the
sum of nearly one hundred thousand dollars.
"The church contains a seating capacity for
fifteen hundred people, while an additional five
hundred or more may be accommodated in an
emergency. The exterior, of massive and im-
posing appearance, has a front of sixty feet
and a depth of one hundred and thirty-three
feet. In the interior, an arched roof is sup-
ported by massive pillars. The distance from
floor to ceiling measures thirty-three feet. The
spire points its glistening cross towards the
heavens at a distance of one hundred and sixty
feet from mother earth. The central altar ap-
pears magnificent in artistic design and prac-
tically is thirty feet in height by twenty feet
in width, and in keeping with its character. The
interior of the edifice is richly embellished upon
ceiling and walls with paintings and frescoes.
A large pipe organ, purchased in Milwaukee at
a cost of three thousand dollars, occupies a
space in a gallery facing the altar. The or-
ganist, Mr. Henry Horstman, is employed ex-
clusively in that capacity. Few such churches
may be seen anywhere aside from the large
business centers, and that Westphalia, the cen-
ter of a rural population, can boast it, testifies
in an eloquent way to the religious devotion and
liberality of the people.
"It is not an uncommon scene to see two thou-
sand persons in attendance at worship of a Sun-
day, and in this temple — striking in its artistic
embellishment, imposing in its roomy archi-
tecture and crowded with the faithful — the spec-
tacle afforded is one that weighs with no slight
effect upon human minds. To this church
come worshipers from five townships, Lyons,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
503
Portland (in Ionia), Westphalia, Dallas and
Riley — and so steadily do their numbers in-
crease that even now there is talk of affording
increased church accommodations. The tem-
poral affairs of church and school and all
property incidental thereto, are held in trust
bv a board of trustees, five in number."
The parish school in 1868 was put in the
charge of the Sisters of the Immaculate Con-
ception, and in 1874 was transferred to the
Sisters of Charity.
Few residents of Clinton county know any-
thing about Grand River city. The story dates
back to the summer of 1834, when one Erastus
Ingersoll became the owner of a tract of land
in the township of Delta, of Eaton county,
near the border dividing Eaton from Clinton.
In 1836 this pioneer increased his holdings by
the purchase of eighty acres on section thirty-
five in Watertown, and later another eighty on
section thirty-six. At about the same time,
Elihu P. Ingersoll became the owner of eighty
acres of section thirty-four. At the time of
this purchase, this section of the county was
an unbroken wilderness.
In 1836 a log house was erected and a com-
pany of men arrived at this point where they
were engaged in the construction of a dam and
the erection of mills. John Thayer, a surveyor
of Farmington, Oakland county, marked out
a village extending from the river to the Grand
River turnpike, which was named Grand River
city. After the saw-mill was constructed, at-
tention was turned to clearing away the forests.
During the winter of 1837, E. S. Ingersoll,
together with his family, came to this location.
Later Dr. Isaac Jennings, Rev. E. P. Inger-
soll, Charles W. Gurney, and others came to
this isolated spot from Massachusetts. Their
object was the establishment of an educational
institution in this wilderness. The state legis-
lature passed an act incorporating the Grand
River Theological Seminary in 1839. Under
the authority given them by the articles of in-
corporation, the trustees of this institution se-
lected a site for their building and began col-
lecting materials for its construction. The
financial panic which became general through-
32
out Michigan and the northwest at about this
time, shattered the purpose of this enterprising
community and ended all dreams for the future
of Grand River city.
The story of Pontiac's conspiracy and of the
defeat of this Indian monarch's plans, are mat-
ters of general knowledge. The Indian girl,
Wacousta, who carried the message of warning
to Major Gladwin of the Detroit garrison, is
a historical character. The Indians called the
little stream upon which Wacousta village is
situated in the township of Watertown, Wa-
cousta, and it is said that the founders of the
village of Wacousta- in Watertown on sections
seventeen and eighteen, near the western border
of the township, adopted the name "Wacousta"
because of their admiration for the heroism of
the Indian girl.
The Waterloo Joint Stock Company was an
association formed in 1837. This concern
purchased land in Watertown described as fol-
lows: "Lying upon Looking Glass river and
being the southeast fraction of the northwest
quarter of section seventeen, township five
north of range three west; and also the east
one-half of the southeast quarter of section
seven in the same township; also the east frac-
tion of the north-east quarter of section
eighteen; also the northwest fraction of the
southwest quarter of section eight; also the
west fraction of the northwest quarter of sec-
tion seventeen of the same township." The
avowed purpose of this enterprise was the im-
provement of the real estate, the platting of a
town and the disposition and sale of lots for
building purpose's. Charles R. Spicer was the
resident agent of this association. An elabor-
ate system of improvement was undertaken in-
volving a prospective outlay of twelve thou-
sand dollars. The company first erected a
sawmill, then a gristmill, and also opened a
store. As might be expected, the plan of this
association did not succeed. It requires some-
thing more than village plats and fee simple
titles to develop an isolated wilderness country.
Charles R. Spicer, before named, obtained a
lease of the company's property and four hun-
dred and thirty acres of land, the consideration
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
being eight hundred dollars annually. Spicer
accomplished nothing and abandoned the place.
This property was finally sold at auction in the
city of Detroit, Cornelius O'Flynn and William
K. Coyle being purchasers. In 1848 Coyle sold
his interest to N. I. Daniels and O'Flynn dis-
posed of his to Elias Daniels, which trans-
action ended the history of the Waterloo Joint
Stock Company.
Hunter and Silsbee, who came on the ground
in 1840, became the owners of the mill prop-
erty. This firm had established a store at
Wacousta, purchasing the business of Walter
Hubbell. In 1848 N. I. and Nelson Daniels
came to Wacousta from Cayuga county, New
York. The grist mill and saw mill were re-
paired and put in condition and they opened a
store. Later a new grist mill was built by
Nelson Daniels and a planing mill was added
to the saw-mill. This concern proved a very
important factor in the development of this
township. During the earlier period, the vil-
lage was called "Waterloo," which was
changed to "Wacousta" as has been before sug-
gested. Henry J. Patterson (now of St. Johns)
and Joseph A. Meyers, a well known character,
were attorneys who located at Wacousta and
practiced there during the earlier days. Dr.
Stanton E. Hazard, Dr. A. S. Hyatt and Dr.
M. A. Mauzer were among the pioneer physi-
cians. The first school to be opened in Water-
town was held at Wacousta in 1839. In 1844
a school building was erected.
The township of Watertown is at the pres-
ent time, thoroughly developed and is a very
wealthy community. The village at Wacousta
has a population of three hundred at present.
It is twenty miles from the county seat, and
twelve miles from Lansing, the state capital.
Grand Ledge, at a distance of seven miles, is
the nearest railroad point. It has a private
bank, Congregational and Methodist Episcopal
churches, several retail stores and a foundry.
Andrew J. Burns, the firm of Daniels &
Cooley and H. C. Garlock are at present en-
gaged as merchants in this village. Dr. R. D.
Boss and Dr. John E. Hinkson practice in this
vicinity. The Wacousta Creamery Company
has its plant at this village.
The village of Bath is situated in the south-
ern half of section seventeen of Bath township,
upon the Michigan Central Railroad, this
branch of that great system being formerly
called the "Rams-horn." The land upon which
this village is located was entered and settled
by a Mexican war veteran, whose name was
Dustin Marr. Charles Thompkins became the
owner of Marr's land. When the Railroad was
built through the township, the settlers at once
offered inducements for the building of a depot.
Money was raised by subscription, and Charles
Thompkins offered to give the undivided one-
half of forty acres of his tract for depot and
yard purposes. The company accepted the
proposition and the depot was built, being the
first building erected in the village of Bath.
Subsequently a village plat was made and
Israel Van Ostran purchased a lot and built
a tavern. John Steffee and F. Kelly soon
opened a store. Charles Farr set up a black-
smith shop. In 1864 a sawmill was built and
in 1880 Leech, Ray & Co. established the Bath
flouring mill. Dr. Newell A. Dryer and Dr.
Albert Hicks were practicing physicians located
at this village at an early date. In 1880 the
village had four general stores, one drug store
and a wagon shop, sawmill and gristmill, and
was an important trading point in southeastern
Clinton.
At the present time the population is three
hundred. Ray Robeson conducts a general
store. Felix Marsah is engaged as merchant
of horse furnishings. A. B. Clews handles
hardware, lumber and builders' supplies. J. A.
Hall is a wagon and carriage maker. J. C.
Davis handles general merchandise. F. E.
Davis is a dry goods merchant. Samuel Cush-
man is a general merchant. The village has a
good graded school, a fruit evaporator, a brick
and tile manufacturing plant, Methodist Epis-
copal and Baptist churches, and telephone con-
nections. It is eighteen miles south-east of the
county seat and eight miles from Lansing.
The flour mill is at present owned by W. J.
Walker. R. H. Loving is proprietor of the
Park Lake resort. The firm of Ball & Salter
operate the fruit evaporator.
The village of Dallas was at an early date
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
505
located on the line of the Detroit and Milwau-
kee Railroad, a short distance east of the vil-
lage of Fowler in Dallas township. Robert
Higham, who was the chief engineer of the
railroad, and another party, in 1857 contracted
for the purchase of one hundred sixty acres of
land on the line of the railroad, including the
site of the village of Dallas, having in view the
founding of a village which was to be called
Dallas. The tract was platted in village lots,
and in 1857 the railroad, which was gradually
being pushed westward, reached this tract.
One Hiram Marsh was made station agent
and the Dallas post-office on Stony Creek was
transferred to this point. A retail store build-
ing had been built and a few lots having been
sold, improvements began. Nelson Kuhn
opened a small grocery and a shoemaker set up
his establishment.
Conditions were against the village, how-
ever, and as late as 1867 ^ nad made no ma-
terial progress. J. N. Fowler, of Detroit, who
owned considerable land in Dallas township,
together with many other residents of Dallas,
secured the location of a depot on the railroad
at the present location of Fowler village. The
railroad company was induced to do this by a
donation of seven hundred and fifty dollars.
Fowler, who owned the land where the new
depot was built, had it surveyed and a village
platted on the north side of the railroad on
sections eleven and twelve and called this paper
village "Isabella," he being the owner of large
tracts of land in Isabella county of this state.
The station was also named Isabella. The
hotel building which has been mentioned as
being built at Dallas was moved to Isabella,
and still remains in part as the Fowler House.
James Lance, storekeeper at Dallas, set up his
establishment just south of Isabella village.
Later he made an addition to the village of
Fowler. The second store was opened by
Jacob Shraft in a log house near where the
Fowler house now stands. The tavern at Dal-
las was moved by Fowler who owned the vil-
lage, and leased to Schemer & Gruler.
In 1869 Mr. Fowler platted an addition to
the village on section fourteen south of the
railroad. The name of the village was changed
at that time to "Fowler." The name of the
post-office was also changed to Fowler, it hav-
ing retained to that time the name of Dallas.
The plat of the village of Fowler was recorded
February 1st, 1870, and states that the village
is located on the Detroit and Milwaukee Rail-
road on section eleven, twelve and fourteen.
The addition of James Lance was recorded
May 31st, 1873, and is described as "Begin-
ning at the north-west corner of section thir-
teen, running thence east on section line sixty-
six rods six feet, thence south parallel with the
west section line sixty-eight rods, six feet,
thence west parallel with the north line sixty-
six rods, six feet to the said west line, . thence
north on the section line sixty-eight rods, six
feet to the place of beginning."
Constantine Gruler, Frederick Schemer and
Jacob Shraft were enterprising merchants at
this point at an early date, the first becoming
a dealer in grain and produce. Dr. L. A. Lau-
rason, physician and druggist, came to the
village in 1866. Dr. W. H. McKenzie and
Dr. George E. Bliss were also physicians in
this village at an early date. John G. Patter-
son engaged in the practice of law at this point
in pioneer days, and still resides at this village.
No village in Clinton county excells the village
of Fowler at the present time in the matter of
progress.
Fowler has become and is one of the best
shipping points for produce, and one of the
test grain markets along the line of the De-
troit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railroad.
Brick and cement blocks have been erected
upon its Main street during the last year and
an electric lighting system has been installed,
and residents of this village are agitating the
question of improved fire protection. The
Fowler House, which has for years been a
hostelry much frequented by travelers, has un-
dergone substantial improvements during the
summer of 1905, a brick addition having been
erected. At the present time the population
is over six hundred.
The following is a list of the business and
professional men now located at this point:
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
The State Savings Bank, which has a capital
of fifteen thousand dollars, with Frederick
Schemer as president, Michael Spitzley, the
Westphalia capitalist, as its vice-president, and
W. H. Snelling, cashier; the Sturgis Drug
Store, which also carries a general line of sun-
dries, wall-paper, paints and oils; Sturgis &
Sons, dealers in grain, seeds and wool and
owners of a large evaporator; Sturgis Opera
House, a new cement building, modern in
every respect, owned by Sturgis Bros. ; Gruler
& Co., who carry a large stock of general mer-
chandise, including furniture; H. J. George,
who deals in furniture and undertaking goods;
F. W. Geller, who also conducts a general
store; John Gay, who handles builders' sup-
plies; T. Fox, who is engaged in a general
merchandise trade; C. Feldpausch, who han-
dles groceries, boots and shoes and general
merchandise; Charles B. Brunn, who keeps
windmills, builders' supplies, furnaces and
stoves in stock and does a general plumbing
business; Levi W. Baldwin, who handles hard-
ware and agricultural implements; H. H. Alt-
vater, who handles horse furnishings, trunks
and valises and buys and ships produce ; C. W.
Doering, who is a boot and shoe merchant;
Charles Heller, who handles general mer-
chandise; Dr. George MacPherson & Son
and Dr. Ernest Schemer are engaged in
the practice of their profession at this village.
In general, Fowler has every appearance of
prosperity and progress. The streets are kept
in excellent condition and the population is on
the increase, and the importance of this station
as a shipping point and produce market is
growing daily.
The elevator of Sturgis & Son, Fowler, is
the largest grain elevator in the line of D., G.
H. & M. R. R.
Fowler village has been mentioned as one of
the important shipping points for grain and
live stock between Detroit and Grand Rapids.
The largest grain elevator on the D., G. H.
& M. railway and one of the largest in this
part of the state is owned by Corwin Sturgis
& Son, of Fowler. Sturgis & Son have been in
the grain business for the past five years oper-
ating an elevator with a capacity of 9,000 bush-
els. They have now nearly completed a new
elevator with a capacity for nearly 30,000
bushels. This structure is 65 feet in height,
with a boiler room 30 by 40 feet. The power
is generated by two 50 horse power engines,
the main part of the elevator is 30 by 40 feet
and adjoining this is a storeroom 20 by 30 feet
that will be used in storing corn during this
winter. They are installing a Monitor grain
separator on the second floor that will clean
1,000 bushels of wheat each hour. The total
capacity of their elevators is now about 50,000
bushels, and they are prepared to handle any
quantity that may be brought in.
In connection with the wheat traffic Sturgis
& Son operate a coal yard and have a building
30 by 50 feet in which coal is stored. They
also have a large creamery that at the present
time gives employment to twenty-five women
and girls. These large buildings are the ones
that the citizens of Fowler fought so heroically
to save during the fire that occurred there on
the afternoon of October 14th.
Mention must be made of the village of
Shepardsville which lies in Ovid township on
the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Rail-
road, three miles west of Ovid village. This
village was laid out in 1856 by William Shep-
ard who ran a store at that point. In 1867
Shepardsville made considerable progress. Dur-
ing that year a grist mill was erected and also
a saw mill which was soon converted into a
stave factory. The boiler in the grist mill ex-
ploded after the mill had been running a few
days, killing the mill-wright and seriously
wounding six other persons. The stave mill
burned in 1871 and three store buildings were
destroyed by fire in 1872 and 1873. Shepards-
ville once contained five stores and a hotel and
the milling enterprises referred to. The cheese
factory started in 1878 burned two years later
and this series of catastrophies has brought
the village of Shepardsville to its present state
of decadence. The post-office established in
1867 was called Ovid Center and later changed
to Shepardsville. Dr. L. O. Ludlum began the
practice of medicine at Shepardsville in 1868.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
507
At the present time the population of this
village is one hundred fifty. F. D. Cleveland
conducts a general merchandise store and D. H.
Scudder also deals in general merchandise.
The only enterprise that Shepardsville has of
any account is the Cheese Factory, operated by
C. G. Johnson and J. F. Love, under the firm
name of Johnson & Love. James McGilli-
cuddy, physician and surgeon, practices at
Shepardsville at the present time. The nearest
banking point to Shepardsville is at Ovid.
The village is seven miles east of the county
seat.
Because of its connection with the progress
of the southeastern part of the county, some
reference should be made to the village of
Laingsburg, which lies in Sciota township of
Shiawassee county, on what is now the Michi-
gan Central Railroad, being formerly called
the Jackson, Lansing and Northern Railroad.
The village was founded in 1836 by Dr. Peter
Laing, but was not platted until i860, at about
the time of the advent of the railroad. Liangs
tavern was a very important point on the
Grand River road from DeWitt west through
Clinton county, and Dr. Laing, realizing the
situation, built his tavern at an early date, he
having located upon his land, including the
present site of the village of Laingsburg, in
1836.
When the village was platted in i860, it
was of minor importance. In 1871 the act of
incorporation was passed, which act, because of
defects, was invalid. The subsequent legisla-
ture passed a second act and an election was
noticed for April 8th, 1872. At this election
one hundred twenty-nine votes were cast.
After the proceedings had been completed, it
was discovered that the provisions of the in-
corporation act had not been complied with,
and the enemies of the incorporation proposi-
tion became so strong that this act was repealed
by the legislature. In the session of 1877 tne
legislature again took up the incorporation of
Laingsburg as a village, and this act seems to
have stood the test. The Laingsburg postoffice
was established in 1837, Dr- Peter Laing being
appointed post-master.
At the present time this village has a popu-
lation of seven hundred. It has a Baptist,
Catholic, Congregational and Methodist church,
one bank and a newspaper. All the lines of
retail trade are represented. Many residents
of eastern Victor in Clinton county do their
trading and market their produce at this point.
The village of Ovid owes its origin to the
Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad and its loca-
tion to plans of speculators. During the con-
structive period of the road, one J. C. E. Gu-
maer, of New York, who owned land in Ovid
township, endeavored to secure a station upon
section eleven. Gumaer appointed W. H.
Faxon, of Duplain, to negotiate with the com-
pany. In 1856 Faxon proposed to the board
of directors of the company that if the site on
section eleven were selected by the company for
a station, the company would be donated five
acres of land and twTo thousand dollars. The
proposition seemed to meet with considerable
favor from the directors. At about the same
time B. O. Williams, of Shiawassee county,
then a prominent factor in affairs of the two
counties, had built a saw-mill in Middlebury
towrnship on the line of the railroad at a point
about one and one-quarter miles east from the
present village of Ovid. Feeling assured that
a railway station would be established at this
place, this enterprising gentleman platted a vil-
lage and began the sale of lots. After nego-
tiations had been carried on for some time,
differences of opinion and conflicting interests
brought about the failure of the enterprise.
Here a compromise was settled upon, accord-
ing to which Williams, H. G. Higham, the
chief engineer of the railroad, and Amos Gould
made an agreement for the purchase of land
including the site of the present village of
Ovid, and Higham was successful in securing
the location of a station there. Thus Gumaer's
proposition, as submitted by Faxon, was of no
avail. B. O. Williams made a plat of a village
at this place, which was recorded May 27th,
1858. This plat embraced the south-east quar-
ter of the east one-half the southeast quar-
ter of section twelve. Additions to the orig-
inal plat have been made as follows :
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
E. M. Fitch, April 15th, 1867; J- Q- A-
Patterson and P. C. Bassett, July 3d, 1867;
Hamilton Stone, December 7th, 1867; W. H.
.Faxon, May 30th, 1872, the latter being thirty
acres in extent.
Upon the lot now occupied by the Retan
House, B. I. Udell started a store with a small
stock of goods early in 1856. In May of 1867
a frame store building was erected by W. C.
Bennett and a stock of merchandise was there
put upon the market. Bennett also engaged in
the business of shipping stones and other forest
products eastward. By this time the saw-mill
erected by Richard Baylis was in operation;
thus we have the nucleus of a real village.
John Burkhart soon began the manufacture of
chairs and cabinets, and Samuel Gilson began a
cooperage business at the new village. Udell,
thef merchant, abandoned his business unex-
pectedly in the fall of 1857, and f°r a short
time Bennett's store monopolized the Ovid
trade. In the winter of 1857-1858 A. B.
Wood arrived, and in May, 1858, W. H.
Faxon and O. M. Pearl, of Duplain, rented
Wood's store and put in a stock of goods. The
building was previously a dwelling house and
stood upon the lot later occupied by the Potter
Block. John A. Potter was engaged by these
proprietors to take charge of the new business.
Faxon subsequently took up a permanent resi-
dence in Ovid and built what was then thought
to be the best store building in Clinton county,
upon the site where the Phoenix Block was
erected later. During the same period of im-
provement, a grist-mill was built by Park and
Kellogg; a hardware store was established by
E. D. Gregory; a drug store by John Fitch,
later owned by Charles Farmer; a clothing
store by F. L. T. Hasse, who began business
in 1859 and continued as a merchant for many
years. The first village tavern was built in
1857 and called the Park House. In later
years the building was improved and desig-
nated as the Clinton House. The first brick
building was erected in 1869 by Anthony
Swarthout. The Phoenix Block was built in
1873 and the Marvin, Potter and DeCamp
blocks were subsequent improvements. The
Ovid post-office was established in 1857 at the
Park House, J. B. Park being in charge.
Later the office was moved to the Bennett
store. The pioneer physician of the village
was Dr. E. V. Chase, who was followed by Dr.
S. C. King. Dr. Charles Armstrong, Dr. E.
S. Leonard, Dr. Baughman, Dr. J. B. McLeon
and Dr. Charles Knapp also practiced their
profession at Ovid at an early date. In 1880
the resident physicians of the village were Dr.
S. C. King, Dr. J. D. Tirrell, Dr. M. R.
Yuill, Dr. C. W. Pengra, Dr. J. F. Abbott and
Dr. O. B. Campbell.
Richard Baylis, who has been mentioned in
connection with the building of a saw-mill, en-
gaged in the practice of law at Ovid in 1858.
E. N. Fitch was his competitor at that early
date. The amount of business along this line
must necessarily have been exceedingly small
at that time. Later arrivals were B. H. Sco-
vill and John Van Blarken. In 1870 W. W.
Dennis, who still resides in Ovid and is en-
gaged in commercial pursuits, opened a law of-
fice at this village. Later came S. W. Baker,
W. H. Castle, who now resides in St. Johns,
and A. D. Griswold. The latter was once the
United States District Attorney at Grand Rap-
ids, Michigan. Hiram H. High was, until
September, 1902, a prominent practitioner at
Ovid, and for years had enjoyed a lucrative
general practice. Mr. High was an influential
politician of the republican party in the county
and enjoyed a large amount of public confi-
dence, until the unfortunate circumstance of
his sudden and unexpected disappearance from
Ovid. Fred R. Everett succeeded to the busi-
ness of High & Everett in 1902, and is still
engaged in practice at this village. Mr. Ever-
ett has for several terms been elected circuit
court commissioner of Clinton county, and
has served several terms as village attorney of
Ovid, and he is highly esteemed personally and
professionally by his fellow citizens. Almond
G. Shepard, like Fred R. Everett, is a graduate
of the Michigan University Law School and
enjoys a large general practice at Ovid,
where he has been located for several years.
S. R. Smith was for a time located at Ovid.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
509
Mr. Smith served one term as prosecuting at-
torney of Clinton and now is engaged in busi-
ness at Detroit, Michigan.
The Ovid Methodist Episcopal church had
its beginning in the organization of a class
which met at the village school house in 1870
in charge of Rev. J. Fowler of the Duplain
circuit. At present this society owns a valu-
able church property, consisting of a commo-
dious, well-built brick church and an unusually
fine parsonage, and is in a prosperous condi-
tion generally.
A meeting for the organization of a Baptist
church was held February nth, i860. The
church prospered and its membership increased
and its new building was dedicated December
14th, 1865. The village has also a Protestant
Episcopal church society. This denomination
held religious services at Ovid for the first
time, February 1st, 1866. Rev. Henry Ban-
well of the St. Johns church officiated on that
occasion, and thereafter rectors of the St.
Johns and Owosso societies held occasional
services at Ovid. In 1875 a mission was es-
talished at this village, Rev. S. S. Chapin hav-
ing charge of the same, and in July of 1880,
the church building was ready for occupancy.
The First Congregational church, which is
at present one of the most powerful social forces
of the county, grew out of a meeting held at
the office of the Ovid Register, January 30th,
1 87 1. At this gathering were present the fol-
lowing named persons : Dr. C. V. Beebe,
David Davis, Wm. G. Fulkerson, R. G.
Young, L. C. Mead, Frank Davis, D. H.
Moore, F. L. T. Hasse, John Bennett, John
Potter, J. G. Mabbitt, H. M. Enos, M. H.
Goff, D. A. Howe, J. S. Kribbs, George C
Beebe, Harry Marvin, J. Q. Patterson, T. M.
Scoville and John W. Fitzgerald. Several of
the above are already familiar in Ovid history.
J. W. Fitzgerald is now a resident of the city
of St. Johns, where he is cashier of the St.
Johns State Bank. At this meeting resolutions
were adopted, providing for the formation of
a temporary organization for conducting Con-
gregational services semi-weekly for a period
of three months. The subscribers agreed to
bear the expenses of thia work. The services
of the Rev. Wm. Mudder, of Laingsburg, were
procured. In February, 1871, steps were
taken towards permanent organization and on
March 3d, of the same year, this was accom-
plished. A house of worship was dedicated in
1872, Rev. J. B. Dawson being the first pastor.
After a period of financial burdens and dis-
couragements, the society finally emerged into
prosperity. The building now occupied by the
Ovid Congregational church is an imposing
frame structure with all modern improvements
and conveniences. Its membership includes
many of the influential residents of Ovid and
its vicinity.
The Ovid Public School is an institution
which has grown to be one of the best of its
class in the county. The present building is
a three-story brick, which was erected in 1870
at an expense of twelve thousand dollars.
Since that time many interior improvements
have been added. The people of Ovid have al-
ways been and are enthusiastic and generous
supporters of their schools.
Referring to the civil history of the village,
the first village election was held in April of
1869, at the village school house, where pre-
liminary matters were arranged, and DeWitt
C. Huntington and Henry C. Barber were
chosen inspectors of election, and L. T. South-
worth was chosen clerk. The election proper
was then adjourned to the Metropolitan Hall,
where two hundred twenty-seven votes were
cast. Harry Marvin was elected President;
D. C. Harrington was elected Recorder; J. C.
Darragh, Treasurer; F. L. Davis, Assessor;
and Hamilton Stone, Brazil Marvin, A. H.
Dunham, George Fox, Samuel B. Leddick,
and William Rose, were chosen trustees. L. T.
Southworth, whose name appears above, was
station agent for the Detroit, Grand Haven and
Milwaukee Railway at Ovid for several years.
Later he was employed in a similar capacity
at Evart, Michigan, by the Flint and Pefe
Marquette and now is a resident of Custer,
Michigan. Brazil Marvin who was one of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
the first trustees, became unfortunately in-
volved financially and after years of mental and
physical suffering, committed suicide.
The village officers for 1905 and 1906, are:
President — Charles B. West.
Clerk — Frank S. Green.
Treasurer — Frank Den Houten.
Assessor — John Link.
Attorney — Almond G. Shepard.
The surprising growth of the village of
Elsie in the north, and several heavy failures,
had for a time a depressing effect upon the
business interests of Ovid. Several disastrous
fires during the last decade have also had their
effect against the progress of the village. In
1880 the Federal census allowed to Ovid a
population of 1,423, while in 1890, the popula-
tion was marked at 1,293. During more re-
cent years, however, conditions have gradually
but substantially improved. Of the destruc-
tive fires mentioned, the burning of the build-
ings of the Clinton County Evaporating Works
occurred in October, 1901. At that time this
property was controlled by the old National
Bank, and had been sold on contract to George
F. and Wallace Gleason. The plant was erec-
ted in 1890. Under the management of the
Gleasons, the volume of business had reached
as high as twenty thousand dollars for a single
season. Since that date a brick block and at least
two stocks of merchandise have been burned,
but the buildings destroyed have been replaced
by more modern structures. Ovid village, like
other villages of the county, is a manufactur-
ing center to a less extent at present than in
former years. Mention must be made of the
Ovid Carriage Works. F. A. Scofield, with
E. A. Reed, began in a small way to manufac-
ture buggies in 1877. After some changes in
proprietorship, James A. Cooper, a wealthy
hardware merchant of the village, became in-
terested in the concern. The business increased
in volume and became a very profitable enter-
prise. Additions were made to the plant, and
private subscriptions were raised to provide a
more suitable building. At present the business
is under the management of Sam Pearl.
In 1866 R. A. Robertson & Co., of New-
York, began a cooperage manufacturing busi-
ness in Ovid, and placed the same in charge of
John Culver. This enterprise increased in
volume of business until as high as fifty men
were employed by the concern. The daily out-
put of this plant was often three hundred bar-
rels and hogsheads. In 1873 Thomas H.
Meaghan, an employe of the company since
1866, was given the management of the busi-
ness. The exhaustion of the timber supply
and other conditions resulted finally in the
abandonment of the business.
Reference has been made to the erection of
a flouring mill by Park & Kellogg in 1859. In
1878 the property passed into the hands of
Schenck and Sowers, who operated the mill
for several years. At present Robert Hyslop
is proprietor of 'the Ovid Roller Mills. This
industry is one of the best of its class in this
section of the state. The capacity of the mill
has been enlarged from time to time and the
machinery is of the most improved pattern.
Mr. Hyslop has a large trade with eastern mar-
kets, and his product is well known throughout
Michigan.
Among other industries of an early date
may be mentioned the Dunham & Kimball
Foundry of 1865, ^ater operated by Haight &
Gun in 1878.
Ovid's pioneer bank was a private concern
founded in 1868 by J. C. Darragh & Co. This
firm included Samuel S. Walker and Charles
Kipp, of St. Johns. In 1873 this firm was suc-
ceeded by Sowers & White, who remained in
charge of the business for several years. For
several years Ovid had a National bank in
which St. Johns capitalists were heavily in-
terested. This institution was wrecked dur-
ing the financial panic of 1895-1898. Follow-
ing this failure, the State Savings Bank was
organized, which is now a substantial institu-
tion. Of this bank, W. R. Shaw is President;
M. L. Taft, Vice President; J. H. Robson,
Cashier. The directors are: W. R. Shaw, H.
A. Potter, O. B. Campbell, A. Woodworth, M.
L. Taft and J. H. Robson.
Of Ovid's newspapers, the Ovid Register
was established July 1, 1866, by J. W. Wick-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
5ii
wire. The proprietorship of this paper was
changed from time to time, J. W. Fitzgerald
being at one time in charge of the business.
This sheet always declared itself as independ-
ent politically. The Clinton and Shiawassee
Union was founded by J. W. Fitzgerald and J.
W. Walsh, and the first issue was published
June 28th, 1879. Mr. Fitzgerald became sole
proprietor on April 3rd, 1880. Subsequently
the two papers were merged and the present
publication is called the Ovid Register-Union.
Mr. W. J. Martin is the present editor and
publisher, and this newspaper is a very success-
ful enterprise in every respect, and an impor-
tant factor in local and county affairs.
Among other enterprises of the present, is
the Folding Casket Lowering Devise Com-
pany, of which E. B. Voorhees is the patentee
and proprietor. Mr. Voorhees also conducts
an extensive furniture and undertaking busi-
ness besides this manufacturing industry.
Of the physicians of Ovid who are at present
in active practice, Dr. O. B. Campbell is promi-
nent. Dr. Campbell's practice has been very
lucrative and he has been and is an unusually
successful practitioner. He is identified with
several of Ovid's business enterprises. Like-
wise, Dr. J. Abbott, Dr. E. S. Leonard, and
Dr. James E. Taylor are at present prominent in
their profession. Dr. A. T. Parrish should
also be named in this connection.
The Ovid Elevator Company, of which W.
R. Shaw is a proprietor, is a concern which is
valuable to Ovid and vicinity. Besides being
heavily engaged in buying grain and produce
and shipping to other markets, this company
handles lime, wool, plaster and cement for the
local trade. The Ovid Steam Laundry is con-
ducted by R. L. Briggs; at present Abies &
Covert, E. R. Daggett, W. J. Hathaway, Pais-
ley W. Holland, and Snyder & Bedell are
among the retail grocery merchants of this vil-
lage. F. J. Storrer carries a large stock of
clothing and furnishings, and A. Ullman is
proprietor of the New York Clothing House.
N. T. Fenner and F. A. Marshall are pro-
prietors of hardware stores; J. E. Gerow and
E. Beebe each conduct well stocked drug stores.
The dry goods trade is controlled by C. E.
Jillson, T. M. Anderson and H. A. Potter;
T. M. Henderson, also a dry goods merchant,
suffered heavy losses in a disastrous fire in
1904. Leroy S. De La Vergne and Rose &
Lewis are boot and shoe dealers; J. C. Sow-
ersby is the proprietor of an up-to-date livery
stable; C. Cowan is proprietor of the Michigan
Produce Company; E. E. Cowan conducts the
Ovid Opera House, and Cowan & Co. are
dealers in clothing. J. H. Mathews & Son op-
erate a machine shop and deal in machinery and
gasoline engines; George S. Huntington han-
dles builders' supplies and is proprietor of an
elevator. George E. Brokan is manager of
the Maple River Creamery. Eaton & Mun-
son is a well-known firm who carry a stock
of agricultural implements. F. Den Houten is
proprietor of a well-stocked book store. The
Hotel Bloss, in charge of W. A. Bloss, is a
well patronized public house of modern ap-
pointments. In fact, nearly every line of retail
trade and mechanical trade is represented at
this village.
Ovid has a municipal electric light and water
plant, and this, in connection with a compara-
tively new standing tower reservoir, affords
excellent fire protection. The proposed elec-
tric line from Owosso and eastward, through
Ovid and St. Johns, to Ionia and Grand Rapids,
if completed, will be of immense benefit to this
village.
CONDITIONS AND CUSTOMS OF THE
PIONEER SETTLEMENTS.
The history of the founding of St. Johns,
because of its peculiar importance in the devel-
opment of the county, will be treated elsewhere.
We have seen in what localities and by
whom the first settlements in the county were
made. The physical conditions which con-
fronted the pioneer have been described. It
now remains to consider how these sturdy
home-builders attacked the enemies which be-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
set them in this new country, and by what
methods and under what circumstances they
persistently removed the obstacles which re-
sisted the progress of Clinton county. This
can best be done by relating the experiences
and incidents of pioneer life as they have been
narrated by the pioneers themselves, not at-
tempting in any wise to refer to each locality
or settlement, but by using those accounts and
traditions which appear to contain descriptions
and narratives most typical and comprehensive.
Reference has already been made to the set-
tlement of Eagle township. The family of
Henry Rowlands was the seventh family to
reach this locality. In June, 1835, Oliver Row-
land located land on the south bank of the
Looking Glass river and returned to the vicin-
ity of Kalamazoo, where he entered and paid
for this land, and from there went to New
York for his family. On returning to the land
of his choice, the first move to be made was
the building of a house. Logs wrere first cut
from standing timber and the ends hewn
slightly. They were then piled up house shape,
the roof being made of bark. Many of the
cabins of the pioneers had no floors. In this
instance, however, logs were split in two and
laid upon the ground, the flat sides upward,
thus making a rude floor. In those days saw-
mills had not yet been built in Clinton county,
and there was no lumber to be had ; consequent-
ly the Rowland cabin was made from the
boards taken from one of the boxes in which
the family's goods had been packed. The fire-
place was made from stones, flat ones being
used for the hearth. The chimney back was
made of stones, cemented with an inferior,
home-made mortar, and higher up, the chimney
was made from sticks, mortised with clay.
This cabin had one window of six panes of
glass, each pane being seven by nine inches.
After the rude house had sufficiently pro-
gressed to afford a shelter, the work of making
furniture for the home began. The first essen-
tial was a bedstead. In this instance this arti-
cle was manufactured from poles crossed with
bass-wood bark instead of the customary bed-
cord. For a support, poles were driven into
the sides of the house. Chairs were made by
splitting a short section of log, boring four
holes in the round side with a two-inch auger
and inserting therein four stout sticks for legs.
In this way a chair was manufactured large
enough for two people and two of these arti-
cles were sufficient. For a dining table our
pioneers used a chest which they had brought
with them. A splint broom was made from a
pole cut in the woods. Later boards from
boxes were taken and a cross-legged table man-
ufactured. The Rowlands brought one yoke
of oxen with them and two cows.
During the first winter they chopped ten
acres, preparatory to clearing. There was no
grind-stone in the settlement, but it was learned
that one of these valuable articles was possessed
by an Englishman who lived ten miles down
the river, near Portland. In the spring of
1836 these pioneers took their axes with them
and followed an Indian trail, walking twenty
miles in order that they might sharpen their
axes upon this grind-stone. The first crops
raised were small patches of potatoes and corn.
The corn was picked in the ear and dried and
ground in a hand-mill. The man of the house,
if he were industrious, could grind half a bushel
of corn in an evening. The nearest stock of
provisions was at Captain Scott's store at De-
Witt, and this store was supplied from Pontiac.
One pioneer of the Eagle settlement, on one
occasion, walked to Scott's store and carried
back one hundred pounds of flour and venison
and other articles needed by the families.
When the clearing had sufficiently advanced,
small areas of wTheat were sown. This grain
was harvested by means of a sickle and threshed
by means of flails. The flail was a heavy pole
ten feet long, broken in the middle and the
parts joined by a hinge of leather string.
After the wheat was threshed out, the next
task was to separate it from the chaff and tare.
For this process these pioneers used a hand-
fan, as it was Called, to "winnow" the wheat.
This fan made from splints interwoven had
two handles. It was semi-circular in form.
A peck of grain could be placed in this fan at
a time, when it was raised up and down with
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
513
a regular motion by the operator and the
wheat, being heavier, falling first, the chaff
floated to the floor. The first grist-mill which
these settlers patronized was built at Portland
in 1837, and in many instances the settlers took
their wheat down to mill in canoes. In some
instances, the wind was utilized in separating
the threshed wheat from the chaff, and later
fanning mills of a primitive type came into use.
Threshing was in those days sometimes done
by means of a flail, as before related, and often
by means of oxen. In this process, the grain
was spread upon a floor and the cattle driven
upon it, thus treading the grain from the straw.
Next came the rude and primitive revolving
cylinder, which was quite an innovation at the
time. Finally the horse power threshing ma-
chine arrived; then the portable steam engine,
which was moved about by means of oxen or
horses, and at last the traction engine which
supplies power for operating the machine and
transports itself and the thresher from place to
place.
Mrs. J. M. Niles writes of the pioneer expe-
riences of Henry Rowland, to whom reference
has been made, as related by Mr. Rowland to
herself. The earlier settlers experienced con-
siderable difficulty in caring for their live stock.
Wolves and bears inhabited the wilderness sur-
rounding the settlements in large numbers, and
frequently invaded the inclosures of the settle-
ments. In this connection Mr. Henry Rowland
states, "One morning I went out to work on the
road. Joseph Eddy was path-master. Had my
axe with me. A few rods from me I heard the
yelping of wolves and the squealing of a hog.
I dropped my axe and crowded through the
thick brush until I could see the combat. A
large hog belonging to Mr. Clark was backed
up against the roots of a fallen tree — a wolf on
each side of him. One would bite him on the
side and the hog would spring at him with
open mouth most savagely, and as he turned
the other wolf would spring and bite. I
jumped on a log and yelled and screamed my
best. The wolves looked at me and slunk away.
I thought I could drive the hog home, as it
was not more than three quarters of a mile
from Mr. Clark's, but the hog was badly
wounded and mad with pain and fear and he
attacked me as he had the wolves. I sprang
back, barely escaping the clashing of his jaws.
I turned and ran over to Mr. Clark's and got
one of the boys and a gun and we hurried back,
but the hog was gone and we failed to find
any trace of it. Perhaps hearing the wolves
coming back, it had run out and been chased
into some covert which we failed to find."
Many of the settlers were intimately ac-
quainted with the Indians. As to the Indian
chief, Okemos, this pioneer says : "I have seen
him. I remember that he came one bitter cold
night to my father's house, stiffened with cold
and very hungry. He lifted the latch and
walked in and went to the great fireplace with-
out saying a word. My father placed an easy
chair for him and cared for his wants as if he
were a distinguished guest. He was an old
man then. Okemos died at his home at the
Looking Glass river above DeWitt in the year
1858. They placed in his coffin his hatchet,
knife, pipe, tobacco, and some provisions, and
thus equipped for the happy hunting grounds,
he was carried to the old Indian village of
Shimnecon and buried near the Grand river.
His son, John Okemos, is now a farmer in
Montcalm county, Michigan. The white man's
fire water wrought great harm to the Indians.
Those I knew were peaceable, except when
drunk. We often traded wTith them. That
brings to my mind a scene of my early child-
hood. Three half-drunken Indians entered our
little cabin when only mother and the three
young children were there. They demanded
food. Mother went to the cupboard. One
brawny fellow followed her, swung his arms
and talked what we could not understand. We
little ones were very much frightened and
huddled in the furtherest corner. Mother of-
fered them a variety of food but nothing
would satisfy them. I seem to see her now with
one hand on the cupboard to support herself —
she was feeble — it was just before her long
sickness of fourteen years in which she never
walked a step. The Indians became noisy and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
more violent, taking down dishes and bottles.
At length they seized the tea cannister and a
few other articles and turned toward the door.
Mother told them they could not have them.
Just then father opened the back door and
walked in with his gun on his shoulder. He
brought his rifle down with a sharp bang on
the floor and with flashing eyes and an-
gry voice, commanded the Indians to 'go/
They did not wait for the rest, but went, drop-
ping the things they had in their hands. I
have an idea they were looking for whiskey/'
The story of life in early Victor as related by
M. F. Swarthout, on August 24th, 1899, con-
tains the following:
"In the spring of 1837, my parents with a
family of six boys, my wife's parents and fam-
ily, and my uncle and wife, making in all six
heads of families, of whom one only is living,
left their native homes in the state of New
York, to seek out a home in the west. On
their arriving at Detroit, they stopped there
until the men came on through, had to make
roads some of the way, and build a log house
for their families to move into. Mr. Laing
was then living near Laingsburg, our nearest
neighbor. We also found Robert McKee,
Squandip, as the Indians called him. Captain
Scott was then living at DeWitt, our next
nearest neighbor. Many were the depriva-
tions those early settlers had to pass through.
I think it was in the summer of 1837, Isaac
Bennett, the first itinerant preacher, came to
my father's house and preached. I could
make mention of many of our pioneer preach-
ers, who traveled through this then wilder-
ness land on Indian trails, fording streams, for
there were no bridges at that time. I think it
was in 1838 a preacher by the name of Jack-
son traveled the circuit. I heard him tell of
crawling on his hands and knees on broken
down trees, across swollen streams with the
bridle rein in his mouth and his horse swim-
ming at his side; all this for the Master. I
could also mention many of the pioneer set-
tlers that came in 1838, 1839 and 18/LO, but
will leave it for others to tell. I think there
was no state in the whole union that afforded
so many helps to the early settlers as our fair
Michigan ; settlers could cut marsh hay for the
cattle and horses; there were plenty of acorns
for the hogs, cranberries and wild honey,
blackberries, whortleberries and strawberries
for fruit for man; wild turkeys, partridge and
quail for fowl ; venison, bear and muskrat for
Indians and some white people ; our streams
and lakes were full of fish; the wolf, which
was quite a terror to the settlers, the fox, coon,
lynx, wild-cat and mink were valuable for fur ;
all these were more or less help to the early
settlers, which afforded lots of means for poor
people. Well, dear friends, you and I have
lived to see this country in its building state,
witnessed it in bloom and also ripen; so it is
with you and me. Our whitened locks show
we have witnessed many scorching suns and
frosty winters. We have also seen the curl-
ing smoke ascend from the wigwams heaven-
ward until it almost seemed to kiss the clouds
and heard from the wigwams the whoops of the
red man of the forest. Now where these wig-
wams were, fields are waving with grain, or
your dwellings stand, or towns and cities have
sprung up, but where are the Indians today?
Our forests are gone and the Indian also. The
steel of the white man has swept him away. I
well remember of the Chippewas in my boy-
hood days. The old chief used to be at
father's often; most always would come a little
before dinner, would sit at the table and eat
his dinner with us as polite as a king. Said
he was in his 104th year; said he was too old
to learn our language which he very much re-
gretted; said if he could, he would tell us of a
great many things that had happened in years
gone by that would interest us. He wTas a tall,
well-made Indian, a good man every inch of
him, honest and upright, full of good wishes
for his people.
"Well, I must tell you something of one of
their dances. Father was then living three miles
northeast of this place. * There were thirteen
families of those Chippewas that called that
their hunting ground. At that time they were
encamped near where the brick schoolhouse
stands in the Parker district; the time was set
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
5i5
for the dance ; two Indians with kegs strapped
on ponies had been to DeWitt to get the fire-
water, as they called it, before the dance com-
menced. One Indian was to stay sober. He
took their guns, knives and tomahawks, put
them out of their reach; then the dance com-
menced, singing, dancing and drinking
whiskey. On the second day of the dance,
whiskey was like to give out, so they put an
Indian on a pony, who ran his pony to De-
Witt and back to get a new supply of whiskey
to finish the dance. That same fall, smallpox
broke out amongst them, took the thirteen
men and also the old chief and most of their
families. In the fall of '39, the Fisher Indians
came and encamped near father's; they
seemed to be quite a civil set. Fisher was
rather a small Indian. I remember he wanted
Ralph, my second older brother, to marry one
of his girls, which was quite a joke on Ralph.
Okemos, the old chief, we used to see quite
often, was a small Indian, very hard-hearted,
and lived to be over a hundred years old.
"I will tell you something of our school priv-
ileges. We used to walk from one to four
miles and were glad of the chance. We sat all
day on a log split in the middle, bolstered up
on four legs with a board in front of us for a
desk. The school houses were well filled,
though cold in winter. We had two terms of
three months each, but most of us had to stay
at home and work half of the time, so that
what we learned had to be done quickly. The
weekly spelling schools and geography schools
were much appreciated. I will tell you of one
boy who was so eager for an education that he
ignored all difficulties. He came to the school
I was teaching fifty years ago.
"His clothing was made of blue denim, a
swankey sewed to the waist-band of the pants.
He had neither boots nor shoes, but moccasins
made of old rags sewed together. A piece of
cloth puckered and sewed up, served for a
cap. For his dinner he had nothing but dry,
cold buck-wheat griddle cakes, yet he seemed
to enjoy them as if they were the richest of
delicacies.
"Today he is a very acceptable preacher in
the Michigan conference. Before I close, I
must tell you something about pioneer farm-
ing. Most everybody owned oxen. There
were but very few horses. We used to break
up the virgin soil with four of five teams
of oxen and a heavy plow. We used a
drag some with wooden teeth. Ox carts
were used for all sorts of business and pleasure
too. At first we threshed our grain on the
bare ground with a flail, and winnowed it by
hand. Very soon, however, the first sweep
power thresher appeared, and was considered
a wonderful invention; the straw, grain and
chafif came through together; three or four
men managed to take care of the straw and
grain. Our modern steam threshers will do as
much work in an hour as we could do with
the other in a whole day. Owosso was our
nearest market place, and most produce was
taken to Detroit or Pontiac. The first wheat
hauled to Owosso brought thirty-five cents,
which was considered a big price. The trip
to Detroit required a whole week. A man and
team were well fed and sheltered for the night
for fifty cents. The women made the cloth
and the clothing for the entire family."
A pioneer settler of Bengal township, who
still resides in the county, recalls vividly some
of the incidents of pioneer life. He had suc-
ceeded in clearing a small piece of ground, to
some extent at least, and began plowing for
a crop of corn with a pair of steers partially
broken. The ground was full of roots and
other obstructions and the steers became un-
manageable, and after a struggle, succeeded in
breaking the settler's plow-point. The plow
he had recently purchased at DeWitt on credit.
Rather than walk to DeWitt to procure an-
other plow-point, our pioneer proceeded
to plant his corn without plowing the ground.
This he did, using his axe, a stroke of which
prepared a hole for the seed and the settler's
boot did the rest. He states that relying
largely upon this crop of corn for the supply of
the year, his heart was cheered when the field
gave prospect of an excellent yield. His
hopes were short-lived, however, for an early
frost arrived in time to destroy his corn patch
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
for all practical purposes. This pioneer
grimly states that he recalls painfully that he
sold his only cow to pay a subscription note
which he had been induced to give to the De-
troit and Milwaukee railroad to secure its
completion through Clinton county.
David Wells, who was one of the first Eng-
lish speaking pioneers to settle in Westphalia
township, arrived on section thirty-six in
1839, and the difficulties and limitations which
surrounded life in Clinton county at that date,
are well illustrated by his experiences. Mr.
Wells was compelled to go to Portland in
Ionia county to the grist mill there. Two days
were required to make the trip, it being neces-
sary for him usually to clear his own road. He
sent his children to the school at Wacousta.
Trading was done at Jackson, it often requir-
ing ten days to make the journey with an ox
team. Coon furs and deer skins were among
the earliest articles which were used by him
as a medium of exchange, for which he re-
ceived flour and other necessities. Such a
thing as money was seldom seen and all busi-
ness was done by barter and trade. Meat was
plentiful, for game abounded in the forest.
Coon skins and deer skins, if taken to Detroit,
were paid for in cash.
The pioneers were not without their reli-
gious and social amusements. It is stated that
the earliest circuit preacher in DeWitt town-
ship was Washington Jackson, of Wayne
county. This gentleman held religious serv-
ices at log houses in DeWitt in 1838. While
the settlers were religiously inclined, never-
theless, they enjoyed any social diversions
and dances were held at the log cabins, these
back-woods revels often continuing from
"early candle light until dawn."
Speaking of experiences with bears, Daniel
Ridenour, who settled in Bingham in 1852,
had a number of adventures. One day in
1852, he was out hunting for a cow, when his
dog started a bear. Ridenour, with his dog,
pursued the animal until it turned as if to
make an attack. Our pioneer was unarmed
and saw fit to retreat. He endeavored to in-
duce William Silverwood to join him in cap-
turing bruin, but that gentleman declined.
Upon another occasion Ridenour was aroused
at midnight by a commotion among his swine.
On investigating, he found that a bear and her
two cubs were on hand, prepared to capture
one of his valued pigs. Having no time to
lose, Ridenour siezed a club and made an at-
tack. The old bear and one of the cubs fled,
while the second cub climbed a tree and before
Ridenour could return with his gun, the ani-
mal escaped.
John Miller, who came to Victor in 1844,
and Robert G. McKee, who was then a promi-
nent factor in Clinton county affairs, together
with an Indian, had a somewhat thrilling ad-
venture with a bear. They had driven the ani-
mal up a tree which they felled, and as the
bear was about to escape, Miller mounted him.
Bruin made every effort to get hold of Miller,
and Miller was determined to stay by his prize
until his companions had helped him capture
it. After a struggle, McKee finally came to
Miller's assistance, and the bear was tied and
McKee took the animal on his horse, intend-
ing to carry it home alive. The animal began
to resist and McKee's horse became fright-
ened, and McKee himself was in the same
state of mind, Miller and the Indian came to
his assistance and McKee finally was relieved.
The previous sketches, among other things,
illustrate the methods and means used by the
settlers in those days in building their habi-
tations. Stern necessity forced these new-
comers to erect shelters for themselves and
their families with as little loss of time as
possible and from the limited material which
their surroundings permitted them to supply
themselves.
Lucius Morton, among the first settlers of
Bingham, built a cabin that had what was
called a "trough roof," which was thought to
be more aristocratic than the cabins of his
neighbors. Instead of using blankets as win-
dows and doors, this pioneer turned his
Yankee ingenuity to advantage, and by means
of his jack-knife, carved sticks for a window
sash and pasted over this sash strips of
greased paper, which served as window lights.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
517
Ira S. Thornton's cabin in Bengal, which was
erected in the year 1842 on section twenty-
five, had a roof made from hollow logs split in
two pieces. The floor of this habitation was
made of black ash "puncheons." The door
was manufactured from boards, and, as in
Morton's house, the windows were supplied
with greased paper; panes of glass being in
those days a luxury.
In general, it may be said that the first ne-
cessity which confronted the immigrant when
he reached his land, was the erection of some
sort of shelter. He turned at once to the
forests for his building materials. The walls
of his house were made of logs hewn or
notched at the corners, and the spaces between
the logs were plastered with a mortar of clay
or mud. If floors wrere laid at all, they were
composed of puncheons, or split logs laid flat
side up, presenting a rude, rough surface. The
roof was made of bark, hollow logs or shakes.
The partitions in the interior, if there were
any, were nothing but blankets. The door was
hung on a wooden or leather hinge and fas-
tened with a wooden latch and opened from
the outside by means of a cord, and wras
barred at night by a heavy wooden bar. Often
this cabin had no window, and if it did, a
white paper well greased took the place of the
glass. The crude fireplace occupied one end
of the cabin. Its back, sides and hearth were
sometimes built of stones, and again made of
clay plastered to a thickness of one foot and
baked by the heat of the fire. Two small tim-
bers of the proper angle rested one on each
side of the wajl and against a beam overhead,
forming the jambs upon which was supported
the chimney, likewise made of sticks and clay
mortar, of suitable size at the bottom and
gradually tapering toward the top, this struc-
ture often being utilized as a smoke-house.
When the fire was built in the winter, a
log from six to eight feet in length was rolled
upon the fire-place and denominated the back-
log. A smaller log placed on top was called
the backstick. Two green sticks six or more
inches in diameter and three or more feet in
length, were placed against the back log end-
wise, and served the purpose of andirons.
Upon them was placed the forestick and be-
tween these and the backlog were piled dry
limbs and wood. When this fire was once
started it needed little attention. The fire-
place contained the baking-pan and the kettle.
About the room stood perhaps a plain walnut
or cherry table and possibly splint-bottomed
chairs, and a high cupboard, the shelves of
which contained pewter spoons, a few cups
and saucers, colored plates and an earthen tea-
pot. In one corner may have stood the old-
fashioned high post corded bedstead, covered
with its homemade quilts, and now and then
a spinning wheel and a loom might be seen. In
a general way, this was the home of the Clin-
ton county pioneer. These primitive pioneer
homes were often visited by hardships which
required perseverance and courage of the
highest type on the part of the settlers.
The pioneer experiences of William H.
Norris, who settled in southern Bingham in
1838, upon section thirty-two have been re-
lated as follows : "Ben Merrihew had built a
shanty on a piece of land owned by him and
quite near to Mr. Norris, and being unoccu-
pied, the latter had possession of it until he
could build upon his own. At this time he
sold forty acres of his farm to his brother, R.
S. (now deceased), and the two families lived
together in the house which Mr. Norris im-
mediately erected. During the latter part of
the fall and the early part of the winter, the
logs were cut and hewn for the brother's
house, and between the Christmas and New
Year, they raised it. On the same day, while
they were at work at the new house, the first
one took fire, and for all they could do, burned
to the ground with all its contents; although
happily, it was so soon after their arrival that
the better part of the household goods had not
yet come from the former home in Washte-
naw. At this critical juncture, some hard-
ships were endured which even looked back
upon through the softening influence of many
years of plenty, bring with them no sensations
of pleasure. Of course, there was nothing to
do but to finish the brother's house and all oc-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
cupy it until the burned spot could be covered
by another home. In about two weeks from
the time of the fire, the father came from Su-
perior with the expected goods, together with
some eatables put in with especial reference to
the late fire, all of which exactly fitted in the
niche which hard experience had chisled. The
rest of the winter was spent quite comfortably
in spite of the uninviting outlook a little be-
fore, and in the spring enough land was
stripped of trees and logs to allow the sowing
of two bushels of spring wheat on as many
acres, and a little later three acres of corn
were planted, although the ground for this
was not cleared of logs, but the corn was
thrust into the soil wherever a spot could be
found. One acre and a half of exceptionally
rough-looking ground was given to a scatter-
ing of oats, and thus the new farm was
cropped. In the following August the burned
house was replaced. Soon after, harvest com-
ing on, the crops were taken from the ground.
A threshing floor was made of split plank, a
flail prepared, and the yellow sheaves of wheat
yielded up their golden treasure to the amount
of twenty bushels of clean, plump kernels. The
corn had eared splendidly and two hundred
bushels were securely cribbed, but the oats had
been sown so late that they could not ripen,
but were cut and used for fodder."
But often times, the supply of provisions
which the settlers brought with them became
exhausted before they were able to subdue the
forests and obtain any results from their la-
bors. The isolation of the settlement, the dis-
tance to markets and the scarcity of money,
often imposed hardships upon the settler and
his family of the most serious character.
Of the Dallas settlement, Davis Parks has
related an incident which illustrates the condi-
tion in which the settlers sometimes found
themselves. Davis Parks and his brother had
gone to Ionia to sell a cow and received in
exchange a small quantity of barley flour, all
that they could secure at that place. Hasten-
ing home with this scant supply, they at once
started for Detroit to obtain a larger quantity.
At least six days were required to make this
tedious journey, and in the mean time, the
dependent families at home had exhausted the
barley flour and were compelled to resort to
roasted leeks in order to resist starvation. The
travelers fortunately arrived in time to avert
serious consequences. Another incident where
scarcity of provisions threatened the settler oc-
curred in Victor township. New Year's day
was at hand and all the family had with which
to make the New Year's dinner was a small
quantity of corn. By traveling about the
country, the head of the house was able to bor-
row a peck of potatoes. There was no bread
to be had and the grist mill was thirty-one
miles away. Resolving to make the best of
what they had, the family ground the corn
into a sort of "johnny-cake." This, with the
potatoes, comprised the New Year's feast.
In 1843, following what is called "the hard
winter," many sad experiences were brought
to many of the pioneers. Too poverty-stricken
to purchase supplies, many families subsisted
for days upon berries and milk, while others
managed to live on a diet of potatoes and salt.
These are but instances of many of the hard-
ships and sufferings of the pioneer settlers in
Clinton.
During the first few years of the settle-
ments, going to mill and market was a great
event. Lucius Morton, who settled in Bing-
ham, was compelled to go to Ionia or Wa-
cousta to mill, and in any event the trip re-
quired four days. In many instances, as be-
fore related, the settlers journeyed to Pontiac,
Detroit, Ann Arbor, Dexter $nd Ypsilanti,
with their grain and produce. Gilbert Cush-
man, who located in Bath in 1836, had no
neighbor within five miles, and Dexter at sixty
miles distance, was his most convenient mill-
ing point, and the actual distance traveled in
reaching the mill at that point, was upwards
of one hundred miles. When the mill at Wa-
cousta was put in operation, the situation was
somewhat relieved. The Duplain settlement,
which was among the first to have a grist mill
and provision stores close at hand, at first ex-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
519
perienced the inconvience of the situation, as
the settlers were required in order to reach
a market or mill, to go to Ann Arbor, Rattle
Creek, Pontiac, and even Detroit, and often,
as has been stated, this settlement received its
mail at Laingsburg or Owosso for a consid-
erable period.
INCIDENTS OF LIFE IN THE SETTLEMENTS.
As far as crime and lawlessness were con-
cerned, the Clinton county settlements were
unusually fortunate. As has been seen hereto-
fore, the people who came to Clinton county
brought with them habits of thrift and indus-
try and a disposition favorable to orderly civic
life and morality. Some instances are recorded,
however, of incidents and crimes which at the
time were the sensations of the day of Clinton
county. It is recorded that the four-year-old
son of Silas Parks, who settled in northern
Bingham in 1839, mysteriously disappeared
one day under peculiar circumstances. The
father, answering inquiries for the lost child,
stated that he had set out to visit a neighbor's
house and had not been seen since. A search-
ing party was organized among the settlers,
and after searching for over a week all hope
of finding the child was abandoned, and some
of them reached the conclusion that Parks
had, in a passion, committed a crime against
the child and hidden the body. He stoutly
maintained that the Indians "must have done
it," which explanation was not accepted by
the settlers. However, there was no prosecu-
tion.
Reference has already been made to the sit-
uation in Bath township, during the first years
after the settlement. It has been stated that
the first settlers in Bath township numbered
families who preferred hunting and fishing,
rather than the arduous labor of clearing land.
This class of settlers was opposed to a further
settlement of the township, and resorted to all
sorts of deception and duress to drive new-
comers from the locality. In many places no-
tices were posted upon trees, bearing warning
that no hay or wood should be cut upon the
33
premises. This deceived a great many of the
newcomers. Now and then a new settler re-
ceived a threatening notice, ordering him to
leave. Roads which had been opened were
blocked by trees, and in many instances land
seekers wfere annoyed by this lawless gang un-
til they left the township.
The first school of Bath was held in a little
cabin probably in the summer of 1840. A
minister of the Christian church planned to
hold public worship at this school house and
several of the youth of the neighborhood pre-
pared a warm reception for this advance agent
of the gospel, and built an exceedingly great
fire in the fireplace, which was of the primi-
tive pattern. The result was that the building
took fire and was destroyed.
Reference has already been had to the gang
of counterfeiters who were apprehended while
pursuing their illegimate calling in Ovid town-
ship. Likewise in Dallas in the early days,
there was a bogus neighborhood in the vicin-
ity of Stony creek, where counterfeit Mexican
dollars were manufactured in considerable
numbers. Some of the criminals were cap-
tured and imprisoned, and others escaped, but
this ended the money-coining business in Dallas
township.
It may be interesting to know that at one
time, Olive township came near to indulging
in a lynching. A lawless person named
Fletcher, wdio claimed to be a blacksmith, but
whose principal occupation seemed to be lar-
ceny, had annoyed the settlers considerably.
As a side issue, Fletcher began poisoning the
cattle. He had been punished before, but the
temper of the Olive citizens here reached a cli-
max, and a public meeting was held where it
was proposed to hang said Fletcher by the
neck until dead. It was proposed that lots
should be drawn to see who should have the
honor of leading an expedition that was to
perform this public duty. One man of the
party was especially desirous of doing the ex-
ecution business himself, and offered to take
the job of killing Fletcher and offered a guar-
anty that the job would be thoroughly done,
but before the plans of this "vigilence com-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
mittee" had been executed, the civil authori-
ties obtained possession of Fletcher and he
was conveyed to the county jail. The situa-
tion was not satisfactory to the settlers, who
had planned vengeance, and a party of them,
disguised as Indians, burned Fletcher's house.
There was some talk of going in a body to the
jail and taking him from the custody of the
law and dealing with him as the party had
planned. Fletcher ultimately escaped from
jail, but it is safe to say he never returned to
Olive township.
Speaking of sensational events, Henry A.
Smith's bear fight, which occurred in October
of 1856, "the smoky fall," was considered at
the time a great event. The story as recorded
is as follows : Smith, w4io resided in Green-
bush township, started on a bear hunt, taking
with him a small black dog, and on approach-
ing a wet swamp, a bear appeared, but es-
caped. Shortly after, the second bear was
seen, and Smith wrounded it by a shot, and the
animal started away, followed by the dog.
Smith hurried to the front, but suddenly there
appeared across his path the third bear, and a
shot was taken by the hunter at this one.
Three shots were fired, when suddenly the
order of things was reversed, and the bear be-
gan to hunt Smith. Quarters were too close
to permit an escape and Smith and the bear
engaged in a close encounter. The hunter,
clubbing his gun, knocked the bear to the
ground, but demoralized the weapon in so do-
ing. The animal was soon on its feet, and
Smith was forced to fight it without weapons.
He finally managed to escape from the
clutches of the animal and got hold of a heavy
stick, and with that he killed his antogonist.
Reference has been made to the "dark, days
of 1856." During this year, in the month of
October, great forest fires traveled through
the county, and for days the atmosphere was
dark with smoke. The 16th day of October
is remembered as the "dark day," when ob-
jects at a distance of two rods could not be
distinguished and lights were necessary in the
houses. Fish died in the streams, and there
was great suffering throughout the county.
The more superstitious, feeling sure that the
last day had arrived, made preparations for
the resurrection.
CIVIL HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
At the present time, Clinton county is con-
tained within the eighth congressional district,
which includes, besides Clinton county, Sagi-
naw, Tuscola and Shiawassee counties. James
Fordney, of Saginaw, is the congressman from
this district. As to- the federal district court
jurisdiction, this county is included in the
southern division of the eastern district of
Michigan. This division includes, besides
Clinton, the counties of Branch, Calhoun,
Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Lapeer, Lena-
wee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, St. Clair,
Sanilac, Washtenaw and Wayne. Judge
Henry H. Swan presides over this district ; the
sessions of the court being held at the federal
court building in the city of Detroit. Clinton
is included with the county of Gratiot in the
twenty-ninth judicial circuit of Michigan, and
for the past six years the Honorable George
P. Stone, of Ithaca, Michigan, has presided
over the circuit court for the county of Clin-
ton. On January 1, 1906, Kelly S. Searl, also
of Ithaca, Michigan, assumed the judicial du-
ties in this circuit. As to representation in the
state legislature, Clinton county constitutes a
single representative district; Levi P. Part-
low, of Eagle township, being the present mem-
ber from Clinton. Clinton and Gratiot coun-
ties comprise the nineteenth senatorial district,
being represented at the present time by
Townsend A. Ely, of Gratiot county.
The county of Clinton was once a part of
Wayne, which was first recognized as a civil
organization by Winthrop Sargent, acting
governor of the Northwest Territory, August
18, 1796. The boundaries of the county of
Wayne were very indefinite at that time; it
being provided that the line should run from
Cuyahoga river in Ohio westward to the east-
ern boundary line of Illinois and thence north
to the boundary separating the territory of the
United States and Great Britain; practically
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
5^1
including" all the territory between Lakes Erie,
St. Clair and Huron on the east, and Lake
Michigan on the west. In later years, Cass,
whose connection with the development of the
Northwest Territory has been referred to, by
proclamation in 18 15, limited the county of
Wayne to include that portion of Michigan
Territory to which the Indian titles ha-1 been
extinguished by treaty or otherwise, which in-
cluded at that time one part of Clinton county.
January 12, 1819, according to a proclama-
tion made by Governor Cass, the county of
Oakland was created and made to include six
tiers of townships north from the base line,
and extending westward to a line which is now
the principal meridian. This excluded Clinton
county. Oakland county was organized in
1820, but by another proclamation of Gover-
nor Cass's of September 10, 1822, it was lim-
ited to its present dimensions, and Lapeer,
Sanilac, Saginaw and Shiawassee counties
were also brought into historic existence by
the proclamation of 18 19, and were added to
Oakland county, provided also that the county
included "all the country not included within
the boundaries of any of the before described
counties, to which the Indian title was ex-
tinguished by the treaty of Saginaw." The
treaty of Saginaw referred to, has been men-
tioned in connection with the administration
of Governor Cass.
By this clause referred to and quoted Clin-
ton county was included, nominally at least, as
part of Oakland county, and so remained until
1830, when the county of Kalamazoo was or-
ganized by legislative enactment; the act con-
taining the provisions, "that the counties of
Calhoun, Barry and Eaton, and all the country
lying north of township four north of the base
line, and west of the principal meridian, and
south of the county of Michilimackinac, and
east of the line between ranges twelve and
thirteen and Lake Michigan, where said range
line intersects the lake, shall be attached to
and compose a part of the county of Kalama-
zoo, for judicial purposes." According to the
terms of the act referred to, the county of Clin-
ton was a part of the county of Kalamazoo,
and so remained for upwards of five years.
By act of the legislature, approved March
2, 183 1, the county of Clinton came into ex-
istence. The county of Clinton was made to
include territory bounded as follows : "West
of the meridian and east of the line between
ranges four and five west of the meridian,
south of the line between townships eight and
nine north of the base line, north of the line
between townships four and five north of the
base line, containing sixteen townships, ac-
cording to the United States survey."
At the same time, the counties of Ottawa,
Ionia and Kent were given a separate existence.
It must not be understood that the county of
Clinton was organized for civil, administrative
and judicial purposes at this time, for Clinton
was attached to Kent county for judicial pur-
poses by an act of the legislature of 1836, and
so remained until March 18, 1837, when the
county of Shiawassee received its existence.
Then Clinton was attached to Shiawassee for
judicial purposes, and so remained until Clin-
ton was organized in 1839.
As regards the United States survey, the
principal meridian line was run by a deputy
surveyor named James Wampler, as early as
1824, to a point as far north as the center of
Clinton, and the south half of the county was
surveyed and divided into the subdivisions
provided by the federal system, in 1827. The
northern portion of the county was surveyed
in 1 83 1 by a deputy United States surveyor.
It is probably true that John B. Cushway,
who tradition holds was the proprietor of the
trading post in Essex township on the Maple
river, prior to the arrival of the Campau, set-
tled prior to 1826, which is the date given for
the establishment of this trading post by
George Campau. No permanent settlement
was made in the county prior to 1832, as far
as the records disclose, so that it will be seen
the survey of the county into townships and
their subdivisions, according to the United
States system, preceded the occupancy by set-
tlers, unless Cushway be excepted.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
A CHAPTER OF COURT HISTORY.
COUNTY AND CIRCUIT COURTS OF CLINTON^
JUDICIARY.
The government and means of administra-
tion of law provided for the Northwest Terri-
tory during the successive stages of its prog-
ress by the federal congress, included a ju-
dicial system of a considerable degree of per-
fection. The Michigan territory, at an early
date, had a system of courts of original and
appellate jurisdiction. The head of this terri-
torial judiciary was the supreme court of the
Territory of Michigan. This court was made
up of three judges appointed and commis-
sioned by the president of the United States,
and its powers and jurisdiction were subjects
of a series of acts and executive proclama-
tions. Generally speaking, this court was
given exclusive jurisdiction in civil cases
where the amount in controversy exceeded one
thousand dollars ; and exclusive jurisdiction in
suits for divorce and alimony, and in eject-
ment of actions. In criminal matters, this su-
preme court had exclusive jurisdiction in
cases where the laws provided capital punish-
ment. This court had appellate jurisdiction
over the county courts and were authorized to
issue the well-known common law extraordi-
nary writs, such as habeas corpus, mandamus,
certiorari error, etc. The county courts, with
which we are more directly concerned, were
established for the territory as early as 1815.
These courts were likewise subjects of legis-
lation during the years of their existence, and
the supreme court and territorial governor
were given supervisory powers over them. In
general, the county courts had exclusive juris-
diction over the civil matters at law . or in
equity, where the amount involved exceeded
the jurisdiction of the courts of justice of the
peace and did not exceed one thousand dol-
lars. In criminal offenses not punishable by
capital punishment, the county courts had ex-
clusive jurisdiction, and appeals from the jus-
tice courts to the county courts were author-
ized.
County courts consisted of one chief justice
and two associate justices, two of which con-
stituted a quorum. These courts were abol-
ished in 1833 and a county court was re-estab-
lished in 1846, after Michigan had become a
state. On November 3, 1846, an election was
held in Clinton county, according to the terms
of the new law, and Jesse F. Turner was
elected county judge, and William Shepard
was chosen as second judge. Judge Turner,
formerly of Rochester, New York, settled at
DeWitt in 1839. He assumed judicial honors
before his admission to the bar, which oc-
curred in 1850. This court held its first ses-
sion in the upper room of David Scott's house,
on April 5, 1847, Hon. Jesse F. Turner presid-
ing. There was no business before the court
which adjourned on the same day. Judge
Turner resigned in 185 1, and the second
judge, Hon. William Shepard, presided over
the county court from that time until January
1, 1852, when the county court ceased to ex-
ist by operation of law. By the constitution
of 1850, the state, exclusive of the upper pen-
insula, was divided into eight judicial cir-
cuits, the eighth including Barry, Kent, Ot-
tawa, Ionia and Clinton. As will be seen, the
act organizing Clinton county, approved on
March 12, 1839, provided that the circuit for
the county of Clinton should be held at the
county seat, at such place as the county com-
missioners should provide. Up to this time,
the village of DeWitt had been the county
seat. The legislative council of the Territory
of Michigan in 1830 authorized the territorial
governor to appoint commissioners, whose
duty was to locate county seats throughout
the territory. Acting Governor Stevens T.
Mason, accordingly on September 5, 1833.
named and authorized James Kingsley,
Stephen V. R. Trowbridge and Charles J.
Lanman as commissioners to locate the county
seat of Clinton county. Thereafter, on Sep-
tember 22, 1835, by proclamation, the gover-
nor confirmed the report of the commissioners,
which established the county seat upon "the
west half of the southeast quarter of section
five, in township five north of range two
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
523
west." This description covered the present
site of DeWitt village. As has been noted,
from 1830 until March 23, 1836, Clinton
county, as unorganized territory, was attached
to Kalamazoo county. Upon the latter date,
the township of DeWitt was created and im-
mediately attached to Kent county. Welcome
J. Partelo was the supervisor from DeWitt
township, which then included the entire area
of Clinton county, and he attended the session
of the board of supervisors of Kent county at
Grand Rapids, Michigan. Later, in 1837,
Shiawassee county was organied and Clinton
county was attached to Shiawassee and so re-
mained until March 12, 1839.
The first session of the circuit court for
Clinton county, as then constituted, was held
at DeWitt, the county seat, at the house of
David Scott, as has been stated. The date
of holding the first term had been fixed as Oc-
tober 2, 1840. Hon. Hiram Wilcox, associate
justice, was present, but the other two mem-
bers of the court, Hon. Charles W. Whipple
and Hon. Joseph Seaver, did not appear and
consequently court was adjourned to October
9. A second adjournment postponed this ses-
sion to December 17, 1840. On the latter date,
another adjournment was had to the regular
term on May 7, 184 1. On this date, the Hon.
Charles W. Whipple, a member of the Michi-
gan supreme court bench, and Hiram Wilcox
and Joseph Seaver, associate justices of Clin-
ton county, were in attendance. A grand jury
had been summoned to attend, composed of
the following persons : Harvey Alexander,
John H. Andrews, Daniel H. Blood, Grove
Cooper, Benjamin Carpenter, Gilbert Cush-
man, Oliver Doty, Francis Francisco, Daniel
Ferguson, Jr., Hugh Haggerty, John Gould.
Elisha Gunnison, Levi D. Jenison, Allen
Lounsbury, Thomas Meyers, John Jessup,
John W. Merrihew, Welcome J. Partelo, Jon-
athan R. Pearsall, John Parker, Charles Stev-
ens, William S. Swarthout and William H.
Webb, the traditional twenty-four. This jury
presented several indictments and were dis-
charged. The county had no prosecuting at-
torney at this time, and consequently Calvin
C. Parks was then and there appointed by the
court to serve in that capacity, for that term
of court. At this term of court no matters of
importance were litigated. Robert B. Dan-
iels appeared before the court and made his
declaration of intention to become a citizen of
the United States; a couple of appeals from
justice court were brought before the court,
and orders were made by the court requiring
the returns from the lower courts to be
amended. In the attachment case of Ephraim
Utley vs. Joseph Cook, the default of the de-
fendant was entered for his non-appearance;
in a divorce case, a six weeks' publication was
ordered by the court. The case of The People
vs. Lyman Webster, indicted for embezzle
ment and on motion of the prosecuting at-
torney, an order was made requiring the re-
spondent to enter into a recognizance in the
sum of three hundred dollars with a surety
in the sum of two hundred dollars, conditioned
upon the appearance of said Lyman Webster
at the next term of court.
A petit jury was called for the first time for
the October term, 1841. The persons sum-
moned were as follows :
Benjamin Merrihew, Edward Higbee,
Henry Jipson, John McCollum, Calvin Bar-
ber, Henry Gibbs, Jr., James Gunsaly, Rich-
ard Lewis, Lyman Webster, Elijah J. Stone.
Joab Dobbins, George A. Merrihew, A. B.
Cranson, Jesse Olmstead, Nathan Case, Bar-
ney Allen, Morris Cushman, Ransom Reed,
John Ferdon, Peter Finch, Reuben Rogers,
Smith Parker and F. W. Cronkite. Judge
Whipple wras not in attendance at this term,
which was also adjourned. Judge Whipple
presided over the Clinton circuit court, as they
constituted, until 1847. Judge Edward Mundy
succeeded to the office and remained until
1851. Hon. George Martin followed Judge
Mundy. In 1857 Judge Louis S. Lovell was
elected circuit judge and presided for many
years. The successive presiding judges of the
circuits which have included Clinton county
since the expiration of Judge Lovell's ex-
tended term, are Vernon H. Smith, of Ionia,
Sherman B. Daboll, of St. Johns, George P.
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524
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Stone and Kelly S. Searl, of Ithaca, the latter
presiding for the first time on January 2,
1906.
THE PROBATE COURT.
The material progress of the county is well
illustrated by the volume of business done by
the probate court of the county at the present
time, taken in comparison with that of an
earlier day. Hiram W. Stowell was elected
probate judge at the April election of 1834.
He held this office, more important at present
than during that period, until 1834. The rec-
ords disclose that the first proceeding had be-
fore this tribunal was the appointment of Be-
linda Cushman as guardian of the minors,
Mial and Charles B. Cushman, heirs of Ira
Cushman, of DeWitt township. The second
record is that of the appointment of Henry
Moon as guardian for the minor children of
David T. Place. This record is of date Janu-
ary 10, 1842. On March 26, 1842, Matilda
and Calvin Marvin, of DeWitt, were granted
letters of administration over the estate of
Eleazer M. Marvin, deceased, and these par-
ties refusing to accept the trust, Seth P. Mar-
vin, a well-known citizen of the county, wras
appointed. Harvey Alexander, W. W. Webb,
and Ephraim H. Utley were named apprais-
ers. The will of Joseph Eddy, of Eagle town-
ship, was the first to be offered for probate, as
far as the records disclose. On June 6, 1842,
Sophia Eddy was named administrator of the
estate of Abram Eddy, deceased. Theodore
H. Chapin succeeded Judge Stowell as probate
judge of Clinton county, and on January 23,
1843, held the first session of court of his
term when he examined the final accounts of
the administrator in the estate of Eleazer
Marvin.
The office of the probate court was held in
one of the county buildings on the public
square of DeWitt village, until the removal
of the county seat to St. Johns. At first the
court held its session in Plumstead hall at St.
Johns, until the erection of the first county
buildings at the latter place. Here the office
remained until the present courthouse was
completed in 1871.
Succeeding Probate Judge Theodore H.
Chapin, the succession to the office of Probate
Judge is as follows: Levi Tawnson, elected
November 3rd, 1846, died in July of 1849; J-
Baker, acting Judge of Probate for remainder
of term of Levi Tawnson, appointed July 14th,
1849; Cortland Hill, the Bengal pioneer, who
was elected in 1850 and re-elected in 1852;
Seth P. Marvin, who was elected in 1856;
Henry M. Perrin, who served from i860 to
1864; William Sickels, elected November
18th, 1864; Porter K. Perrin, who served un-
til 1872, when Joel H. Cranson was elected to
the office, assuming official duties on January
ist, 1873. Judge Cranson served in this hon-
orable capacity until January 18th, 1893, when
the present incumbent, Charles M. Merrill, who
was elected in November of 1892, began his
career as Judge of Probate. Judge Merrill
was chosen for another term in November,
1904, his present term extending to January
ist, 1909.
Levi Tawnson, the third probate judge, was
an attorney at law, having been admitted to
the bar at Ann Arbor in Washetaw county.
In 1842 he was appointed prosecuting attorney
of Clinton county, so remaining until 1848,
when he became judge of probate. He died
at DeWitt in July of 1849.
Theodore H. Chapin, the second probate
judge of Clinton county, came to Michigan in
1840 from the state of New York. He had
practiced lawT in that state and was a veteran
of the bar when he settled at DeWitt in Clinton
county. After the termination of his public
office, Mr. Chapin moved to Allegan county.
Joe Baker was admitted to the bar in Eaton
county in 1845. He practiced at Portland in
Ionia county and in 1847 located at DeWitt.
He was the first prosecuting attorney of the
county elected under the constitution of 1850.
He practiced law at St. Johns after the re-
moval of the county seat to that village, and
from St. Johns he went to Grand Haven and
from there to Muskegon. Cortland Hill, of
Bengal, who served as probate judge for two
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
525
terms, being first elected November 5th, 1850,
has been mentioned in connection with the set-
tlement and development of that township.
Seth P. Marvin, who was elected probate judge
in 1856, was a member of the medical profes-
sion, having first settled with his father, Cal-
vin Marvin, in Watertown in 1835, and soon
after removed to the village of DeWitt.
Henry M. Perrin, who served from i860 to
1864, was one of the prominent and influential
citizens of Clinton county, and a member of
the well known firm of Perrin & Baldwin, of
which he was the senior member. He was a
native of Vermont and a graduate of Dart-
mouth College, and a student at the Albany
Law School, being admitted to the bar in 1854.
He came to St. Johns in 1857, where he estab-
lished himself as an attorney at law. Later he
became engaged in a real estate and money
loaning business. He served the senatorial
district which includes Clinton county, in the
state legislature, being elected to that office in
1865. During his public career, he served as
supervisor of Bingham township and as presi-
dent of the village of St. Johns. Porter K.
Perrin, who followed William Sickels as pro-
bate judge, being elected in November of 1866,
was a brother of Henry M. Perrin above men-
tioned. Mr. Perrin, like his brother, received
his professional education at Albany Univer-
sity. He was a veteran of the War of the Re-
bellion, and on his return to Clinton county
at the close of his martial career, remained in
business at St. Johns until a few months prior
to his death, which occurred recently.
Judge Joel H. Cranson, who was probate
judge of the county for so many years, was a
descendant of Massachusetts stock. He was
born in Orleans county, New York, and reared
in Calhoun county, Michigan. He was ad-
mitted to the bar at Kalamazoo in 1857, lo-
cating in St. Johns village shortly after that
time. He enlisted in 1863 in Company I of
the Twenty-third Michigan and took part in
the Georgia campaign. He received his honor-
able discharge in June of 1866. Upon return-
ing to St. Johns, he entered into partnership
with Gen. Oliver L. Spaulding, and in 1872
was elected judge of probate, as has been be-
fore mentioned. Judge Cranson was a mem-
ber of the democratic party. Throughout his
extended public career he maintained the high-
est standard of public service. Cranson lived
to a ripe age, spending his last days in the state
of California.
The Honorable Charles M. Merrill, who
succeeded Cranson as judge of probate, and still
remains in charge of that office, was born in
Chatham, Medina county, Ohio. His grand-
father, Richard Merrill, was of New Hamp-
shire stock and a classmate of Daniel Webster
at Dartmouth College. In 1867, Floyd Mer-
rill, the father of Charles M. Merrill, took up
his residence in Clinton county. Judge Mer-
rill entered the law department of the Univer-
sity of Michigan in 1874, and after finishing
his course returned to St. Johns and entered
into practice with O. L. Spaulding. He also
formed a partnership with Anthony Cook,
which lasted for two years. Later, on January
1st, 189 1, the firm of Fedewa & Merrill was
formed. Judge Merrill has served as super-
visor of his township, as justice of the peace,
as prosecuting attorney, and has been* promi-
nent in political affairs of Clinton county.
PROBATE RECORDS SHOW PROGRESS.
As has been suggested by the records of the
probate office of the different periods, when
compared, indicate the material progress of
the county. Robert E. Craven, of Duplain,
whose connection with the development of
that section of the county has been referred to,
died in 1855. The inventory of his property
filed in the probate office, indicates that his es-
tate consisted of the east half of the north-west
one-quarter of section eleven of Duplain, with
a steam mill thereon, valued at one thousand
dollars. Among the items of his personal es-
tate mentioned, was one galvanized watch,
valued at eight dollars ; one set of joiner's tools,
valued at twenty-five dollars; one "pistole,"
valued at three dollars. Among the few books
of his library, the inventory names Homer's
Iliad and Webster's Dictionary. By the rec-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
ords of 1857, in the matter of the estate of
John Sweet, of Watertown, forty acres of land,
being the northeast one-quarter of the south-
east one-quarter of section thirty-five, was val-
ued at five hundred dollars. The personal es-
tate consisted of one grain cradle; on pitch-
fork; one hoe; and one cow-bell. Another in-
stance of the low valuation placed upon land
during that period, is that shown by the pro-
bate records wherein one hundred and twenty
acres of land on section fifteen in Bengal town-
ship was valued at twelve hundred dollars
only. The record of another estate shows three
hundred and ninety-eight acres of land on sec-
tions twenty-two, twenty-three and twenty-six
in the township of Victor, valued at the meagre
sum of nine hundred and ninety-five dollars.
The personal estate is inventoried as follows :
Two yoke of oxen, at forty dollars; eight drag
teeth; two ox yokes; and one rifle.
In 1859, eighty-nine acres of land located in
the township of DeWitt, on section one, was
sold at a probate sale for one thousand dollars.
By another probate sale, the north one-half of
the southwest one-quarter of section twenty-
three of *Riley township was sold for four hun-
dred dollars, being appraised at three hundred
and twenty dollars. In another estate, probated
in 1858, among the personal effects inventoried,
are : One coffee mill ; one brass candle-stick ; one
iron candle-stick. As late as 1861, the probate
records disclose that forty acres of land on
section thirteen of Dallas township was ap-
praised at two hundred and fifty dollars. In
1863, forty acres of land on section twenty-two
in Lebanon towmship was valued at five hundred
and sixty-three dollars and sold the next year
for five hundred and fifty dollars. During the
same year, two hundred and forty acres of land
in Westphalia township was valued at nineteen
hundred dollars. It may be mentioned, as a
matter of interest in this connection, that in
1863 ^e estate of Lorenzo Evans was probated,
and that the property of the estate, as shown
by the inventory, consisted of the following
items : Back-pay as a soldier in the service of
the United States, ninety-one dollars; bounty,
seventy-five dollars.
We now begin to see a decided increase in
the property values in the county. In 1874,
one eighty-acre tract is inventoried at twenty-
eight hundred dollars. In 1879, eighty acres
of land, described as the north one-half of the
southeast one-quarter of section twelve in the
township of Essex, was valued at three thou-
sand four hundred dollars. In 1884, sixty-six
acres of land on section eleven of Ovid town-
ship was estimated as worth five thousand six
hundred ten dollars. In 1894, thirty-five
acres of land in Duplain township was valued
at one thousand two hundred twenty-five dol-
lars.
Instead of the farm tools and implements
consisting of oxen, grain cradles, scythes, ox
yokes, etc., the inventories of personal estates
contain lists of mowing machines, reapers,
grain binders, horse rakes, land cultivators,
threshing machines and traction engines.
One estate, that of a Watertown farmer,
which was admitted to probate in 1904, shows
eighty acres of land on section twenty-five of
that township, valued at seventy-five dollars an
acre; eighty-five acres of land on section thirty-
three, valued at sixty-five dollars an acre; and
a personal estate estimated at $2,727.60; mak-
ing the total valuation of the estate, $14,252.60.
The item of the personal estate mentioned in
the inventory, when compared with those of
former days, shows the rapid stride forward
that has been made in Clinton county during
the past few years. In this inventory are
named, a double buggy, a top buggy, a hay
loader, a grain binder, a hay tedder, a two-horse
rake, wheeled cultivator, land roller, mowing
machine, disk harrows, cutters, and hay car and
ropes. It is not to be understood that this
estate mentioned is the largest one that has
been probated in this county during recent
years, but as typical for the purposes for which
the facts taken from the records are used.
COUNTY ORGANIZATION.
As has been said, the act authorizing the
organization of Clinton county into an adminis-
trative district, was passed by the legislature in
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
527
1839. This was but six years after the appear-
ance of Captain Scott in DeWitt township, as
we now7 designate it — then on the bank of the
Looking Glass in section five of township five
north of range two west. At this time — when
the county was organized, little material pro-
o-ress had been made. What settlements there
were, were scattered and isolated ; means of
communication were in a most primitive state,
and the people generally in hard circumstances
and hardly able to bear the burden of additional
taxation. Nevertheless, the idea of independ-
ent county organization was favorably received.
The organic act provided for the election of
the first county officers at the April election, fol-
lowing the date of the approval of the act,
March 12, 1839. ^n me regular course of af-
fairs, these county officers should have been
elected at the November election, but the act
provided that the terms of office should expire
as though the election had been held on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday of the previous
November. This county election, held on April
1, 1839, resulted in the following persons being
chosen :
Sheriff — William F. Jenison.
Clerk — Seth P. Marvin.
Register of Deeds — Milo H. Turner.
Treasurer — John Gould.
Judge of Probate — Hiram W. Stowell.
Associate Judges — Hiram Wilcox and
Joseph Sever.
County Commissioners — Calvin Marvin,
Ephraim H. Utley and Robert E. Craven.
It is well to keep in mind that at this date,
Michigan was under the constitution of 1837,
so-called, which was adopted by the constitu-
tional convention assembled at the city of De-
troit, then the capital of Michigan territorial
government, on the second Monday in May in
the year 1839. This first constitution, although
not so lengthy and not containing the specific
provisions and details as the "New Constitu-
tion" of 1850, nevertheless, if the digression is
permissible, was a model organic law in many
respects superior to the laborious and volumin-
ous document which supplanted it later. By
this first constitution, provisions for county ad-
ministration differed in many respects from
those set forth in the present constitution. As to
the judicial system, this organic law provided
that each organized county should have a pro-
bate court; associate judges of circuit courts,
and judges of county courts, together with pro-
bate judges, were to be elected to those re-
spective offices by the qualified electors of the
county for a term of four years. As to the
application of these provisions to Clinton
county, reference has been had to that history.
As to county offices, some explanation is neces-
sary, in order that the civil history of the first
stage of the county's existence may be under-
stood. This fundamental law of 1837 pro-
vided that in each organized county, once in
two years, the electors thereof should choose a
sheriff, a county treasurer, one or more coro-
ners, a register of deeds. Each county was
given a prosecuting attorney, who with the at-
torney general of the state, was appointed by
the governor and confirmed by the senate. Al-
though township officers are mentioned in the
first constitution generally, no specific provision
seems to be contained therein, except as to
justices of the peace, which are provided for
as a part of the judicial system. The office of
county commissioner was created in 1818, each
county being provided a supervising board con-
sisting of three members appointed by the
governor, and who received an annual salary
of thirty dollars. In 1827, the office of county
commissioner was abolished and supplanted by
a board of supervisors, thus localizing the repre-
sentation in county administration. In 1838,
however, the board of county commissioners
. was re-instated, and in consequence, among the
officers first chosen for the county under the
organizing act, three county commissioners
were numbered. In 1842 this board was finally
abolished, and a board of supervisors restored.
The board of county commissioners held its last
session March 16, 1842, and on the succeeding
July 4, the board of supervisors held a session.
At that meeting, the representation was as fol-
lows :
DeWitt, Jesse F. Turner.
Eagle, Oliver Doty.
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528
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Westphalia, Anthony Kopp.
Riley, Atwell Simmons.
Olive, Daniel Ferguson, Jr.
Ovid, Isaac V. Swarthout.
Bingham, Stephen W. Downer.
Bengal, Chauncey M. Stebbins.
Greenbush, David Levy.
Duplain, Robert E. Craven.
Reference to the story of the settlement must
convince one that this board of supervisors
was composed of strong representative men.
The townships of Watertown, Ossowa and
Lebanon were not represented at this meeting.
Before the history of the first proceedings of
the board of supervisors is related, the story
of the subdivision and organization of the town-
ships should be briefly reviewed in order to ac-
count for the composition of the board, as it
varied from time to time. However, before
this narrative is handled, the administration of
the board of county commissioners will be
briefly reviewed.
At the meeting of the commissioners, held at
DeWitt on April 10, 1839, Ephraim H. Utley
was made chairman, and County Clerk Seth P.
Marvin was named as clerk of the sessions.
One of the first matters to receive the attention
of the board was the settlement of accounts be-
tween Clinton and Shiawassee counties, whose
administration had been carried on jointly for
a time theretofore. April 21, 1839, was named
as a date for a joint meeting of the two boards
of commissioners to adjust matters. The meet-
ing was adjourned to the house of Commis-
sioner Utley in the village of DeWitt, on June
10th following. The joint meeting referred
to, arranged for the purpose of settling accounts
between Clinton and Shiawassee, was not held
until wSeptember 23, 1839, and a conclusion of
negotiations was not reached until December
24th, 1840. The allowance of wolf bounties
was one of the first matters to be handled by
this board and at the adjourned meeting the fol-
lowing demands were audited and allowed:
Wolf certificate to No-wab-ano $ 8.00
Wolf certificate to Ash-ha-be 8.00
Wolf certificate to Alonzo D. Brewster 8.00
Wolf certificate to Alonzo Vaughan . . 48.00
Account of David Watson 7.50
Account of Timothy H. Petit 7.50
Account of John Berry 5.00
Account of E. H. Utley. 5.50
Account of Seth P. Marvin 9.50
Total $107.00
Small as the amount of claims against the
treasury of the new county was, it is true that
any tax whatever was a burden upon the peo-
ple of the county which they wrere scarcely able
to bear comfortably. The tax assessment of
the county as distributed among the various
townships in the year 1839, was as follows:
Township Town
Tax.
Ossowa $ 259.83
DeWitt 162.96
Watertown 31446
Bingham 302.03
Lebanon 430.00
Westphalia 106.40
Total $1575.68
County
State
Road
Poor
Tax.
Tax.
Tax.
Tax.
Total.
$ 146.57
$ 154.81
$ I43-05
$ 1304.26
205.05
216.89
821.93
1406.83
353-54
377.07
1289.88
2334-95
284.56
300-43
1418.51
2305-53
137779
436.20
1720.37
$25.00
2989.36
82.23
93-57
326.19
614.39
$245574 $1578.97 $6319-93 $25.00 $11955.32
It will be seen by reference to the above table
that an effort was being made throughout the
county to improve and open highways, and heavy
taxes were levied for that object. For comparison
with figures pertaining to the subject, the follow-
ing, taken from the county records of 1839, shows
the equalized valuation of property among the
townships of the county for that period.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
529
Towns. Acres.
Ossowa 24501
DeWitt 339x9
Watertown 55690
Westphalia 14529
Lebanon 67713
Bingham 49I9I
Total 245543
Real
Personal
Estate.
Property.
Aggregate.
$ 73503-00
$ 1105.00
$ 74608.00
!03833-00
4753-00
108586.00
169817.00
3130.00
172947.00
43587.00
150.00
43737.00
203139.00
2300.00
205439-00
147946.00
1250.00
149196.00
$741825.00
$12688,00
$7545i3-00
Computations based upon the above figures
show that at the above date land in Clinton
county, as valued by the board of county com-
missioners, was worth a fraction above three
dollars per acre.
Returning to the administration of the board
of county commissioners, at the joint session
of the board of the two counties as above
mentioned, in September, 1839, from computa-
tions it was decreed that Clinton was in debt
to Shiawassee in the sum of $305.97. One item
of this indebtedness was as follows, "To a
proportion of $10.00 counterfeit bill taken by
Josiah Price, late treasurer, for taxes $4.50."
To the above account $14.80 was credited to
Clinton, being proportion of wolf bounties al-
lowed by the auditor general. It was also found
that there was a sum in the common treasury
and that Clinton's apportionment was $823.60.
The township of Lebanon being in default in
the sum of $915.50, this sum was charged (or
the claim was assigned) to Clinton. This trans-
action left Clinton in debt $204.62. By figur-
ing in wolf bounty and after other readjust-
ments, Clinton's obligation was finally fixed at
$291.17. The final settlement of the matter is
shown by the following receipt :
"$291.17.
"Received of the county commissioner of the
county of Clinton, two hundred and ninety-one
dollars and seventeen cents, being the balance
due to Shiawassee county from the county of
Clinton, a settlement of the contingent expenses
of the counties up to December 18, 1840."
"Isaac Castle,
"Treasurer of Shiawassee county."
"Corunna, Jan. 13, 1841."
At the session of the board of commissioners
held in February, 1840, the distinction between
township and county paupers was abolished and
it was provided by resolution that thereafter the
county should incur the entire expense of caring
for the poor of the county.
In a meeting of October 12, 1840, steps were
taken by the board towards providing county
buildings at DeWitt village. A resolution was
passed appropriating four hundred dollars for
the erection of offices for the treasurer, clerk and
register of deeds. The resolution also pro-
vided that a sufficient amount should be raised
for the building of a jail. The bids were sub-
mitted, and Commissioner William Utley was
awarded the contract upon his bid of $439.00
for the county offices and $1,078.00 for the jail
and dwelling. Later on, the board of commis-
sioners had trouble enough concerning this con-
tract. One thousand dollars had been advanced
to Utley towards erecting the proposed build-
ings. At a later session the board found by
resolution that William Utley had violated his
contract. The question of the power of the
board to appropriate the funds for the purposes
above mentioned, seems to have been raised, for
the records show a resolution stating that the
board had doubts about their authority to raise
the funds provided by it in the premises with-
out the vote of the electors of the county.
Nevertheless, Utley was given an extension of
time to complete the buildings, under penalty
of having the board declare his contract for-
feited.
It may be mentioned that on January 28,
184 1, the board by resolution, appointed
Alonzo Brewster county surveyor "for the time
being."
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Before referring to the first sessions of the
new board of supervisors, the facts pertaining
to the township organization must be detailed.
FORMATION OF TOWNSHIPS.
The first township in the county to be given
an organization was that of DeWitt. The act
of the legislature, approved March 23d, 1836,
provided that the county of Clinton "be and
the same hereby is, set off and organized into
a separate township by the name of DeWitt,
and the first township meeting therein shall be
held at the dwelling-house of David Scott in
said township."
In 1837 the township of DeWitt as then ex-
isting, was divided along the line of the center,
to-wit : on the north and south line which forms
the boundary between ranges two and three
west of the meridian, and a new township was
created in the western one-half; the legislative
act providing "that the townships in ranges
three and four west in the county of Clinton,
be a township by the name of Watertown, and
the people thereof shall be entitled to all the
privileges incident to the inhabitants of or-
ganized townships, and the first township meet-
ing therein shall be held at the house of
Anthony Niles in the said township of Water-
town."
The next subdivision occurred in 1838, when
by act of the legislature the north half of
Watertown was set apart as a township ; the act
providing "that all that part of Clinton county
designated by the United States survey as town-
ships number seven and eight north of range
three and four west, be, and the same is here-
by set off and organized into a separate town-
ship by the name of Wandaugon, and the first
township meeting therein shall be held at the
house of George Campau in said township."
Reference has been made to the fact that the
Indian name given to this township was un-
satisfactory to the people thereof, and the result
was that soon after the organization of this
township, a second act was passed, which pro-
vided "that portion of townships seven and
eight north of ranges three and four west, ac-
cording to the United States survey, be and
the same hereby is set off and organized by the
name of Lebanon, and the first township meet-
ing therein shall be held at the house of James
Sowle, Jr." This last act was obscure in its
provisions, and the actual change of name of
this township from Wandaugon to Lebanon
was not made until the following session of the
legislature. At the time the county of Clinton
received its organization, as has been herein be-
fore mentioned, there were but three townships
in the county — DeWitt, Watertown and Wan-
daugon. DeWitt comprised the eastern half
of the county from the meridian line westward
to the west line of range two. Watertown
comprised the present townships of Eagle,
Westphalia and Riley, in addition to the ter-
ritory comprised within the limits of the pres-
ent township. Wandaugon covered the rest.
Shortly after the organization of Clinton
county, the northeast quarter, covering the pres-
ent townships of Ovid, Bingham, Greenbush
and Duplain, was organized by act of the legis-
lature in 1839 as the township of Bingham.
Following this act was another which provided
"that all that part of the county of Clinton
designated in the United States survey as town-
ships numbered five and six north of range
number one west, be and the same hereby is,
set off and organized into a township by the
name of Ossowa." In 1841, survey township
six north of range two west, which was then
the north half of the township of DeWitt, was
organized into the township of Olive, leaving
DeWitt reduced to its present dimensions.
Watertown was further reduced in size by
an act passed in 1839, which erected and or-
ganized the township of Westphalia. Two
years later, in 1841, the township of Eagle was
set off from Watertown, and the township of
Riley was organized from the same territory,
thus leaving Watertown with its present area.
The township of Wandaugon (later named
Lebanon) remained with its original area for
two years after its organization; in 1840 the
township of Bengal being organized from its
area. In 1845 the township of Dallas was set
apart from Lebanon; the township of Essex
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
53r
having been organized by act passed in 1843.
The township of Bingham comprised four sur-
vey townships mentioned, until 1840 when the
east one-half of the north-east one-quarter of
Clinton county was subdivided into the town-
ships of Sena and Ovid. The name of Sena
was changed to Duplain in 1841. In 1842 the
northern half of what was left of Bingham was
organized into the township of Greenbush. In
this connection it is interesting to note that the
original boundary line established between
Greenbush and Bingham was the subject of sub-
sequent legislation. On April 7, 1846, an act
was passed providing that "all that part of the
township of Greenbush in. the county of Clin-
ton, known and designated as the south one-
half of section thirty and sections thirty-one,
thirty-two and thirty-three, be, and the same
hereby is, attached to the township of Bingham
in said county." The three and one-half sec-
tions mentioned remained part of Bingham
until 1850, when the legislature passed an act
re-annexing this territory to Greenbush.
The area of Ossowa was reduced in 1843
by the organization of the north half of its
territory into the township of Victor, and the
name Ossowa was changed to Bath. By an
act of the Legislature approved March 16th,
1847, il: was provided "that all the territory
designated by the United States survey as town-
ships numbers nine and ten north of range two
west, be and the same hereby is attached to the
township of Greenbush in the county of Clin-
ton." Township nine north of range three
west was likewise attached to the township of
Essex, and townships nine and ten north of
range four west were annexed to the township
of Lebanon. Later townships numbers nine
and ten north of range one west in the county
of Gratiot were attached to and made a part
of the township of Duplain, and townships
number ten north of range three west in the
county of Gratiot was made a part of the town-
ship of Essex.
As a result of this legislation, the territory
now comprised within the townships of North
Shade and New Haven in Gratiot county were
attached to Lebanon township of this county;
townships Fulton and Newark of Gratiot were
attached to Essex of Clinton, and Washington
and North Star townships of Gratiot county
were added to Greenbush in Clinton; and Elba
and Hamilton townships in Gratiot became a
part of Duplain in Clinton. On October 12th,
1853, the Board of Supervisors of Clinton
county in exercise of the powers conferred
upon them, set off the two Gratiot townships
which had been added to Lebanon and organized
the territory into the township of North Shade.
The supervisor from North Shade met with the
board of supervisors of Clinton county. By
the organization of Gratiot county, which oc-
curred in 1855, all this Gratiot county territory
was detached from Clinton administration.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OF THE COUNTY.
As has been stated, the newly constituted
Board of Supervisors convened at DeWitt, the
county seat, ten members being in attendance.
Daniel Ferguson, who represented Olive, was
elected chairman. One of the serious matters
which then confronted the county officials was,
as has been seen, the building of county build-
ings. By resolution the board designated the
upper room of the new house of David Scott
in the town of DeWitt to be used as a court
room, three other rooms as jury rooms and
one room for use of the Board of Supervisors.
The price named for the lease was two hundred
dollars from May 1, 1842, to July 15, 1843.
When the County Commissioners went out of
office, there was a dispute brewing concerning
the county office buildings, which were in pro-
cess of construction under a contract. At the
July session of 1842, a lengthy resojution was
adopted, charging that Utley had not completed
his contract and that the county had sustained
damages, and would in future sustain damages,
because of the non-performance of his agree-
ments by the contractor. After thus express-
ing its indignation, the board finally resolved
that the county would use the buildings. More
will be heard of this later, for on the same date
the board found by resolution that said Utley
was indebted to the county in the sum of
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532
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
$1,455.33, and the prosecuting attorney was
instructed to institute proceedings for the re-
covery of the above amount. At the October
session of 1843, a special committee reported
that the county buildings had been finished with
cut instead of shaved shingles, and that the
same were worth thirteen dollars less than the
contract price. Later, in the October meeting
of 1843, tne county buildings were accepted
and William Utley allowed his balance, and the
next day Utley was credited with $173.07,
which was the amount found against him pre-
viously because of the non-production of
vouchers by the Board of County Commission-
ers, which required him to give a bond at that
time for the protection of the county. Mr.
Utley' s troubles did not end here, however.
At this period county expenses began to pile
up. The sum of $50.00 was appropriated for
the purchase of record books for the probate
office. At the January session of 1848 a reso-
lution adopted by the board stated that William
W. Upton, late treasurer of the county, had re-
ceived from the township treasurers $628.20
for which he had never given an account. A
similar step was taken in regard to the account
of Hiram Stowell, who, the board alleged,
owed the county $364.13. Committees were
appointed to call upon the delinquent ex-treas-
urers and demand payment.
At this session a move was made towards
providing a county farm. The board found by
resolution that the increase in the population of
the county had produced a vast increase in the
expense of caring for paupers and a special com-
mittee was named to investigate and report as
to where the most "commodious" could be pur-
chased and upon what terms.
The records show that during 1847, ^48
and 1849 Ionia county had used the Clinton
county jail for four hundred seventy-four days
and owed the county thirty-three dollars for
rent.
In December of 1850 the board took up the
matter of the larceny from the treasurer's office
of county orders, poor orders and jury certifi-
cates, and a committee was appointed to inves-
tigate. Steps were taken to protect the county
funds and the board provided that advertise-
ments should be inserted in the Northwestern
Advocate and Clinton Express, requesting
holders of orders to surrender the same.
The larceny of the vouchers from the treas-
urer's office was referred to in a facetious way
at the session of the board held in 185 1, when
the chairman was authorized by resolution to
purchase twenty chairs for the use of the
county. Supervisor McKee offered an amend-
ment, adding the words, "And a box with lock
and key suitable for the safe keeping of said
chairs." Following this, an amendment to the
amendment was offered authorizing McKee to
take charge of the said key.
The matter of building a court house was
brought up at various times and discussed and
plans considered. Ex-Treasurer Ferguson was
found to be in arrears by the board which met
in October of 1851, and as had been done in
previous cases, a committee which had been
designated to make a demand upon Ferguson,
reported that the ex-treasurer refused payment
and demanded of the county payment of two
hundred twenty dollars, which he claimed was
his due. At this session the sum of three thou-
sand five hundred dollars was raised for county
purposes for the ensuing year. The record dis-
closes that in the beginning the wolf bounties
were the most numerous claims against the
county, but later on, witness fees and jurors'
fees became the burden of the record. Ex-
Treasurer Ferguson, under whose administra-
tion the treasurer's office lost thirteen hundred
dollars in county vouchers, as he claimed, was
the subject of a resolution later on, passed Oc-
tober 16, 1852, stating that nothing had been
discovered connecting him with the robbery,
and he was voted his back salary of two hun-
dred twenty dollars.
In 1853 ^e Board of Supervisors took up
the highway question and each township was
authorized to raise a sum, not exceeding one
thousand dollars, for building a plank road
from the forks of the Bad river in Saginaw to
the village of Lansing in Ingham county. In
a session of 1853 the proposition to build a
court house was again brought up. It was pro-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
533
posed that the county should raise eight hun-
dred dollars and that two hundred dollars
should be provided by individual subscriptions
for the purpose of building a court house. In
1853 the total amount provided for this pur-
pose was twelve hundred dollars. The county
rented buildings of school district number six
of DeWitt for county purposes from 1850 to
1853, and there was no question as to the neces-
sity of building a court house. At first the
county paid the school district seventy-five dol-
lars, and later the rental was raised to one
hundred dollars.
The assessed valuation of some of the town-
ships, as fixed by the Board of Supervisors in
1853, is as follows :
DeWitt, $169,820.00.
Bengal, $105,312.00.
Eagle, $100,798.00.
Essex, $105,312.00.
COUNTY BUILDINGS.
As has been suggested, among the numerous
demands which confronted the infant county,
the most prominent was the erection of county
buildings. The fact that DeWitt village had
early been designated as the county-seat has al-
ready been mentioned. By reference to the
brief history of county affairs previously nar-
rated, it will be seen that the matter of an ap-
propriation for building county offices was
brought up before the Board of County Com-
missioners on October 12, 1840, a contract be-
ing awarded to William H. Utley. In connec-
tion with this building enterprise, Seth P. Mar-
vin finally completing the structures, David
Scott, prominent in early affairs, deeded to the
county a piece of land described as "Commenc-
ing at the southwest corner of the Public
Square ; running thence east three chains ; thence
north three chains; thence west three chains;
thence south three chains to the place of begin-
ning; also lot 366 in block 50 according to the
plat of the village of DeWitt, for the purposes
of the county buildings of said county, with the
express understanding that, should the present
location of the county-site of said county be re-
moved, then the said county is to further re-
move from said lands any buildings belonging
to said county at the time of the removal of
said county-site, and the lands above described
are to revert to said David Scott and Clarissa
Scott, their heirs, executors, administrators and
assigns." The consideration named in the said
conveyance was ten dollars, the same being of
date March 15, 1842. The parties to the above
transaction scarcely understood how soon the
provisional clause in the deed would become
operative.
The office building as finally completed upon
the public square was in dimensions eighteen
by thirty feet. It contained but two rooms, one
being dedicated to the county clerk and register
of deeds, and the other to the judge of probate
and county treasurer. Heretofore these offices
had been kept at various places in the village,
the county paying rent for rooms to accommo-
date them. The jail which was built about the
same time was used by the county until 1862.
From 1839 to 1847 rooms were rented of David
Scott for use of the county courts, juries and
the Board of Supervisors. In 1847 the school
house of District Number 6 was leased for
such purposes, the county continuing to occupy
same until 1855. After that year until the
removal of the county-seat to St. Johns, ses-
sions of the circuit court were held successively
in rooms rented from Chauncey Lott, C. M.
Derbeyshire, and in 1857 the Baptist church
at DeWitt. In 185 1 a movement was begun
towards the building of a court house at De-
Witt.
At the October session of the Board of Su-
pervisors in 1855 the question of removing the
county seat to St. Johns was first discussed,
according to record. The supervisor from
Bingham, J. O. Palmer, offered a resolution
"That the county seat be removed to St.
Johns." An amendment was tendered by W. J.
Jenison, of Eagle, striking out "Village of St.
Johns" and inserting "the center of Muskrat
Lake." Nothing was accomplished in this line
at this date. In 1856 at the January meeting
of the board, a resolution was offered provid-
ing that the sum of $2,000.00 be appropriated
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534
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
by the county which sum added to a one thou-
sand dollar subscription raised by DeWitt citi-
zens was to be applied in building a court house
on the public square. At this point the ques-
tion of location being raised indirectly, it was
proposed that the county-site be located upon
the north-west corner of section number five of
Olive. This motion in connection with another
asking for an appropriation of $800.00 for the
construction of fire-proof county offices at De-
Witt was lost, thus leaving the way open for
further agitation in favor of St. Johns.
On January 2, 1857, William H. Moote,
then a representative citizen of St. Johns and
supervisor of Bingham township, presented to
the board a resolution providing for the re-
moval of the county seat to the public square
in the village of St. Johns. The matter was
laid on the table and on the following day
Moote offered as a substitute for his previous
resolution, as follows : "Whereas, it is proposed
to remove the county site of Clinton county
from the village of DeWitt in said county
where it is now located, therefore, we the Board
of Supervisors, resolve that the public square in
the village of St. Johns in said county, accord-
ing to the recorded plat thereof, be and the same
hereby is designated by said board as the place
to which such proposed removal is to be made."
An amendment to this resolution was offered,
the same being as follows : "Providing that the
inhabitants or some one in their behalf, will
make to Clinton county a good and sufficient
deed for one and one-half acres of land for
county buildings, on or before March, 1857,
and secure to said county the sum of two thou-
sand dollars towards the expenses of the county
buildings, to be paid on the completion of the
buildings." The friends of DeWitt were on
hand and dilatory tactics were employed. One
amendment was offered asking that all of the
resolution after the figures "1857" De stricken
out. The amendments were carried and the
Moote resolution as amended was adopted.
Later in the day Moote offered another resolu-
tion in connection with those previously adopted
in reference to the removal of the county seat,
which was as follows : "That the time for hold-
ing the next annual township meeting shall be
the date on which the electors of said county
shall vote on such proposed removal, and that
the county clerk be authorized to notify the
township clerks and to furnish three notices of
the foregoing resolution, to be posted in three
public places in each township." At the annual
township meeting, April 6, 1857, the proposi-
tion of removal was submitted to the electors.
After the vote was counted, it was found one
thousand four hundred twenty-three votes were
cast in favor of the proposition and six hundred
eighty-nine against it.
At the session of the board held the next fall,
supervisor Moote presented a preamble and
resolution as follows : "Whereas the Board of
Supervisors of the county of Clinton, by reso-
lution adopted January 2, 1857, proposed to re-
move the county site of the county of Clinton
and locate the same at the village of St. Johns ;
and whereas, it appears that at a subsequent
election, a majority of the electors of said
county voted in favor of such removal and lo-
cation ; therefore, be it resolved, that the county
seat of said county be and the same hereby is
declared to be established at the said village of
St. Johns, in accordance writh said resolutions
and the vote of the electors of said county
thereon." At a vote of eleven to five, the reso-
lution was adopted, and in December, 1857,
the county offices were removed from DeWitt
to Plumstead Hall in the village of St. Johns.
Later the Board of Supervisors returned to De-
Witt the county buildings and the land owned
by the county, for township purposes.
The construction of a brick building for
county offices was begun in 1858 by the reso-
lution providing for the erection of this office
building. The dimensions were to be twenty
by forty feet and twelve feet high in the clear;
the same to be completed by December 1, 1858.
The sum of one thousand dollars was appro-
priated for the construction of the same. The
county officers did not occupy the building until
January 19, 1859, and after that date until the
present court house was completed upon the
square, the county officers were held at
this building. The sessions of the county
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
535
court, after the removal of the county seat,
were held at Plumstead Hall until 1861 ; then
in Clinton Hall, which the county rented of
George W. Stephenson until 1869. Newton's
Hall was also used by the county for the period
of one year, and a building owned by John
Hicks on Clinton Avenue was next utilized.
The records of the Board of Supervisors show
that the Plumstead Hall was rented at an an-
nual rental of seventy-five dollars.
The county had grown very prosperous, the
population having increased considerably, and
in consequence of improved conditions, co-
operating with the prevalent public spirit, in
1869 preparations wrere made for the erection
of a suitable court house for Clinton county.
A resolution offered before the Board January
5, 1869, brought matters to a focus. The
records show this resolution to be as follows :
"Whereas, the village of St. Johns has pro-
vided for raising five thousand dollars offered
for the construction of a court house, therefore,
resolved that the county of Clinton build a
court house on the public square, not to cost to
exceed six mills on the dollar on the assessed
valuation of the county estimated from the cor-
rected aggregate assessment of the county for
the year 1868; three mills to be raised in 1869
and three mills in 1870. The question to be
submitted to the electors at the annual meeting
in April, 1869." This matter was at once re-
ferred to a committee and on the following day
a substitute for the resolution was offered and
adopted, the same being as follows : "That the
proposition to raise the sum of twenty-five thou-
sand dollars be submitted to the people in April,
1869, t° be raised by lo^n, said loan payable in
five annual payments." On this substituted
resolution the vote stood twelve to two, and in
the election following it, one thousand seven
hundred thirty-four votes were cast in favor of
building the court house and one thousand and
one hundred and seventy against it.
Based upon the resolution and the result of
the election, a building committee was at once
appointed with power to enter into contracts
for the erection of the new county building.
William L. Hicks, George R. Hunt, Benjamin
34 -
F. Shepard, David Clark, Moses Bartow and
John Hicks were named as members of this
committee. At the session of October, 1869,
this committee reported the adoption of a plan
similar to that of the court house at Bay City,
Michigan, and further reported that contracts
for the construction of the foundation had been
awarded, and that the foundation walls were
to be completed in November, 1869. On De-
cember 18, 1869, tne committee opened sealed
proposals or bids for the construction of the
court house. The lowest bid, twenty-four
thousand dollars, was not accepted, and the
committee commenced the task of constructing
the building under its own supervision. It was
finally completed and ready for use in October,
187 1, and the committee, according to the re-
port of January 9, 1872, made by John Hicks,
its chairman, had expended thirty-five thousand
three hundred forty-four dollars and fifty-eight
cents in this public enterprise.
The Clinton county court house was a model
building at the time when it was erected and
was counted as one of the finest public buildings
in the state. Since that time the needs of the
county offices have increased in proportion to
the increase of business. Improvements have
been made from time to time and considerable
sums of money have been expended in main-
taining the building, re-arranging its interior
and keeping it in repair. It is now heated by
an expensive steam heating apparatus. The
offices of the county clerk, judge of probate,
and register of deeds have been connected with
fire-proof vaults, and the county has spared no
expense in rendering the court house a suitable
and proper building for the accommodation of
public officers and the transaction of the busi-
ness of the county. The increase in the volume
of business and the multiplicity of records have
conspired to render the office rooms in the
county building inadequate. The fire-proof
vaults in the judge of probate's office are rap-
idly becoming filled with records, and by the
present arrangement of the interior of the
building, this important judicial officer has but
one room in which to transact his business, pre-
pare and keep his records and hold sessions of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
the probate court. Likewise vault room in the
office of the register of deeds is rapidly becom-
ing inadequate, and the county clerk will soon
be in need of more commodious quarters. The
court room on the second floor of the court
house is an unusually spacious room, the ceil-
ings being extraordinarily high. In general,
it has the appearance of an auditorium rather
than that of a court room. The idea was at
the time the interior of the building was planned
that a large room should be prepared as the
same could be used for public meetings of va-
rious sorts.
Steps were taken by the Board of Supervisors
in 1904 and 1905 toward re-modeling the in-
terior of the building and building additions
thereto. An architect was engaged to prepare
plans for the additions and for the re-modeling
of the building, which plans were submitted to
, the board. The board ordered the matter of
raising the sum of twenty-six thousand dollars
for carrying out the plan of reconstruction to
be submitted to the voters at the spring election
of 1905. There seemed to be a general misun-
derstanding as to the necessity of this additional
outlay, and the proposition fell down by a vote
of approximately three to one. By co-operation
between the city of St. Johns and the Board of
Supervisors, a clock has recently been placed in
the tower of the court house, which adds much
to its appearance and contributes to the con-
venience of the people.
In 1873 definite steps were taken toward se-
curing a site and building a jail and sheriff's
dwelling thereon. On January 10 of that year
a special committee which had previously been
appointed, reported and recommended the pur-
chase of lots one, two and three in block twenty
of the village of St. Johns. The board adopted
the report and the lots were purchased for the
sum of six hundred dollars, the deed of convey-
ance bearing date January 20, 1873. On Janu-
ary 5, 1875, a ^solution was passed by the
board providing for submitting to the electors
of the county a proposition to raise ten thou-
sand dollars for the building of a jail and sher-
iff's residence upon this county land. On May
12, 1875, the board convened for the purpose
of taking up the business of erecting the jail.
After considerable time had been spent in
"filibustering," Eugene V. Chase was elected
chairman of the board and Josiah Upton, who
still resides in the city of St. Johns, was author-
ized and appointed to procure plans and speci-
fications for the work, the building to be erected
at a sum not to exceed ten thousand dollars.
Plans were accepted as submitted in the follow-
ing June, and John Hicks, Josiah Upton and
Richard Moore were named as a building com-
mittee with power to advertise and receive pro-
posals and award the contract. The building
was completed in October, 1876, and at a total
cost of ten thousand fifteen dollars and fifty-
three cents. As it stands today, the county jail
and sheriff's residence combined is a splendid
county building, located at one of the best loca-
tions in the city of St. Johns. Additions have
been made to the building and the interior re-
modeled from time to time.
THE COUNTY FARM
The history of the purchase of the county
poor farm, as recorded in the history of Clin-
ton and Shiawassee counties, can scarcely be
improved upon and is as follows :
"The first official action taken in reference
to the support of the county poor of Clinton
county, as recorded in the proceedings of the
county commissioners, was in October, 1839,
at which time Grafton Webber, of Watertown,
Thomas Fisk, of Bingham, and Franklin Oliver,
of DeWitt, were appointed county superintend-
ents of the poor for the ensuing year. In the
month of February following it was resolved
to abolish the distinction of county and town-
ship poor and that 'all expense hereafter in-
curred shall be a charge against the county.'
The first step toward providing a county farm
for the poor was taken at a meeting of the
Board of Supervisors on the 4th day of Janu-
ary, 1844, when a resolution was offered that
arrangements be made for the purchase of a
farm for the maintenance of the poor. This
resolution was laid on the table and finally re-
jected by the board; but at the annual session
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
537
in the following autumn a committee to whom
the report of the superintendents of the poor
was referred, recommending the purchase of a
farm. Supervisors Boughton, Pearl and Taber
were appointed a committee to examine the
farm of William Utley and ascertain his price.
The committee reported and after due consid- ,
eration, the farm was purchased for six hun-
dred sixty-one dollars and sixty-eight cents;
the deed bearing date, November i, 1844. Its
location is in township five north of range two
west, (DeWitt) and is the north-west quarter
of the south-west quarter, and the west half of
the south fraction of the north-west quarter
of section nine. The farm was rented to David
Olin for one year from January 1, 1845, f°r
fifty dollars, and was sold to Jesse F. Turner
for six hundred sixty-six dollars and ninety-
two cents on the 7th day of October of the same
year.
"About ten years elapsed before further ac-
tion was taken for the purchase of a farm. At
the fall session of 1854, N. I. Daniels, of Water-
town, moved 'that a committee of three be ap-
pointed whose duty it shall be to examine loca-
tions and receive proposals with a view to the
purchase of a farm and the location of a poor-
house, and report to the board at the next meet-
ing/ The three supervisors, Plowman, Estes
and Fitch were appointed such committee. On
the 1 2th of October, 1855, Stephen Pearl,
county treasurer, was authorized to receive pro-
posals for the purchase of a farm of from eighty
to one hundred acres. But it does not appear
that Mr. Pearl made a purchase, as on the 24th
of January, 1856, the committee appointed in
1854 reported in favor of the purchasing of
one hundred acres of George W. Stoddard for
fifteen hundred dollars, situated on the north-
west quarter of section twenty-eight in the
township of Olive. This report was adopted
and Stephen Pearl was appointed agent to ex-
amine the title and consummate the purchase.
The deed is dated January 25, 1856, and re-
corded on the 29th day of January of the same
year. At the January session in 1858, a com-
munication was received from the superintend-
ents of the poor, recommending an appropria-
tion to erect a building on the county farm,
which was referred to a special committee.
There is no further record of the appointment
of this committee or of any report made upon
the subject.
"At the annual session in the autumn of 1859
it was decided to let the maintenance of the
county paupers to the lowest bidder with good
security. This method of supporting the poor
was continued for several years.
"At the January session of 1854 the offer of
William Sickels to exchange lots one and two
in block thirteen of the village of St. Johns for
the county farm, was accepted and Charles Kipp
was authorized to convey the title. This ex-
change was, however, not made, as it appears
that on the 17th of December, 1867, Charles
Kipp conveyed the farm owned by the county
to Henry Lackey — this conveyance being in
accordance with a resolution of the Board of
Supervisors made October 17, 1867; the farm
having been sold on contract to Mr. Lackey in
October, 1865. A committee was appointed to
report on the necessity of purchasing a poor-
farm, which committee reported the next day
and recommended the purchase of one hundred
acres near the village of St. Johns. This report
was approved and on the next day the superin-
tendents of the poor were authorized to pur-
chase a farm at a price not to exceed four thou-
sand dollars. A farm was purchased of Hiram
L. Lamb for three thousand five hundred dol-
lars, the deed bearing date April 8, 1867. ^
contains seventy-six and one-half acres, forty
of which are under cultivation and it includes
an orchard of one hundred and seventy-five
fruit trees. The superintendents of the poor
were authorized to erect a building not to ex-
ceed eighteen hundred dollars in cost, 'to meet
the demands of the unfortunates which are en-
trusted to their care.' Under this authority, a
building was erected in the summer of 1861
and another is being erected the present year to
further accommodate the increased demands of
the county poor."
The eighty acres purchased of Miner R.
Frink, lying adjacent on the north to the orig-
inal tract, was recently purchased by the county
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
for the sum of five thousand five hundred dol-
lars. The farm is at present under the man-
agement of E. R. Lester. The board of poor
commissioners appointed by the Board of Su-
pervisors, consists as follows : President, Fred
A. Travis, St. Johns; Secretary, Frank M.
Spaulding, St. Johns; John A. Watson, of Du-
plain, being the third member. The county
farm physician is Dr. Frank C. Dunn, of St.
Johns. Although under the present manage-
ment the county farm is exceptionally produc-
tive, and has grown to be a valuable property,
the county appropriates from eight to ten thou-
sand dollars per year for the care and mainte-
nance of the unfortunate classes.
THE CITY OF ST. JOHNS.
The city of St. Johns, as it exists today,
covers section sixteen and a portion of the
northeast quarter of section seventeen and a por-
tion of the east half of section eight, and a por-
tion of section nine, of Bingham township,
Clinton county.
In the pioneer days Bingham township was
not considered as a sanitary location; the area
thereof containing considerable tracts of swamp
and marsh lands. This village had its begin-
nings some time after the first settlements
throughout the county had been made. In the
year 1853 a party of four state officials exam-
ined the line of the Detroit and Milwaukee
Railway as then proposed, having in view the
purchase of land along the line for purposes of
speculation. vThese persons were John Swegles,
Auditor General; Porter Kibby, Commissioner
of the Land Office; E. C. Whitmore, State
Treasurer, and H. S. Mead, Deputy Attorney
General. However commendable the position
assumed by these parties, being state officials,
might be, they were able to select tracts of land
with considerable foresight. John Swegles was
given authority to secure land on the Detroit
and Milwaukee Railway most likely to become
a railway station, where a village site might be
platted by this association of speculators. This
company of buyers showed foresight in enlist-
ing Robert Higham, chief engineer of the rail-
road, in their enterprise, for he had the author-
ity to select sites for railway stations. Charles
L. Dibble, of Detroit, was also admitted on the
ground floor.
John Swegles, the principal factor in the en-
terprise as far as St. Johns was concerned, was
a native of New York state and in 1840 be-
came a resident of Hillsdale county, Michigan,
and later was the editor and publisher of the
Hillsdale Gazette, being Elected Auditor Gen-
eral of the state in 1850. As a matter of fact,
Swegles was authorized to act in behalf of each
member of the so-called company. He ob-
tained information from Engineer Higham that
the railway company would establish a station at
some point near the vicinity of what later became
the village of St. Johns and he began the pur-
chase of land in that locality. His first pur-
chase was eighty acres of land of the west half
of the south-west quarter of section nine, the
owners being represented by George W. Estes,
who still is a venerable citizen of the city of St.
Johns. Later Swegles added to this tract land
on the south half of section nine and all of sec-
tion sixteen, except the south-west quarter of
of the south-west quarter; the company own-
ing an aggregate of nine hundred twenty acres
of land. The site of the village was designated
and work was begun at once, surveys were
made and streets named and lots cleared. A
company of laborers was imported and set at
work under the charge of George W. Estes.
Considerable progress was made, as those in
charge of the enterprise were men of energy
and good judgment.
One of the first moves was the erection of a
steam sawmill which was in operation in the
winter of 1854 and 1855. Cornelius Vrooman
built a frame house just prior to the building of
the sawmill. The surveyors and employes of the
company were boarded at this place, which
was called the "Whittemore House." Samuel
Gardner, one of the pioneers of Bingham,
whose tavern has already been mentioned, soon
arrived at the new town and purchased a lot.
He erected a frame building for tavern pur-
^and called it the "Gardner House." After
&ne he sold his property to George W.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
539
Estes, who called it the "Clinton House." Swe-
gles soon had a store building erected on Clin-
ton Avenue, stocked with general merchandise,
with George F. Mead and George W. Estes in
charge thereof.
It will be noted that the railway had not yet
been built to St. Johns. At this time the young
village consisted of a hotel, store and a saw-
mill, but its proprietors had faith in their enter-
prise and not without reason, for it was known
at that time that the Detroit and Milwaukee
railway would pass through the village plat
without question.
As to the naming of this village, there seems
to be some difference of opinion as far as the
traditions offer information. One explanation
is that the village was named in honor of John
Swegles. George W. Estes claims this to be
the fact. In substance, Mr. Estes' explanation
is as follows : In the summer of 1854 John Swe-
gles, David Sturgis, M. E. Burroughs, C. A.
Lamb and George W. Estes were one day sit-
ting upon a log in Walker street, when the mat- ■
ter of naming the new village arose; that Swe--y
gles suggested "Whittemoreville" and "Mead-
ville," in honor of his associates in the enter-
prise; Sturgis offering the name of "Swegles-
ville'1; that Mr. Estes suggested that a more
appropriate name would be St. Johns" as a
mark of honor to John Swegles, and that the
latter suggestion was unanimously accepted by
the company; that Swegles offered to submit
the proposition to the next meeting of the com-
pany; that before this meeting was held, John
T. Newell arrived on the ground with a stock
of goods, and that the boxes in which the goods
were contained were marked, "St. Johns" ; that
Mr. Estes took a cover from one of New7 ell's
boxes and nailed it upon a tree; that from that
time the village was known as St. Johns. Elder
C. A. Lamb has given a somewhat different
version of the occurrence, claiming that Swe-
gles, Sturgis, Mead and himself were present
at this meeting; that the names "Richmond,"
"Sweglesville" and "Johnsville" were sug-
gested and that he (Elder Lamb) proposed to
"call it St. Johns" ; that Mr. Swegles responded
saying, "For some reasons I should be in favor
of St. Johns. Amen; St. Johns let it be."
On the other hand, it is entirely possible that
neither of these versions of the occurrence of
the christening of the new village of St. Johns
is correct. Mr. Samuel S. Walker, who now
resides at Old Mission, Michigan, has the fol-
lowing to say in this connection : "If I remem-
ber rightly, it came from the name of Johns-
ville, a village of central New York and a sta-
tion of the New York Central Railroad. For
many years it was the railway dining place.
It is said that in the franchise by which the
railway was allowed to go through the town
it was specified that every train should stop at
that station and that some one at least should
stop for meals. With the great increase of
travel and the development of the road, this
practice became a great annoyance, and it is
said that several years ago the railroad paid
Johnsville a large sum of money to have this
agreement vacated. Robert Higham, formerly
of Johnsville, New York, was chief engineer
o the Oakland and Ottawa Railroad, running
from Pontiac, Oakland county, to Grand Ha-
ven, Ottawa county, afterward united with the
Detroit and Pontiac Railroad, the combination
forming the Detroit and Milwaukee line.
"It was seen from Corunna to Ionia there
was no station, and the engineer realized that
a large town would develop somewhere within
that distance, so the St. Johns Land Company
was organized, consisting of officers and direct-
ors of the railroad company and several other
gentlemen, among them being John Swegles,
then Auditor General of the state, Porter
Kibby, Charles Dibble and others. I do not
think this company was a corporation, simply
a partnership. Mr. Higham located the site
for a station where there was a large quantity
of such land and where the land was at a high
level, and here a village was platted, which was
named 'St. Johns.' It was his expectation
that being so near the center of the road, it
would become the dining station, and for some
time it was such. When the road went into
English hands, the dining station was perma-
nently established at Owosso. The names of
several of the streets of St. Johns immortalize
the original name of the railroad and its of-
ficers and directors, as well as other persons
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
connected with the enterprise originally. The
names of Oakland and Ottawa streets can be
connected with the name of the Oakland and
Ottawa railroad; Walker, Higham, Cass, Stew-
ard, Swegles and Whittemore streets refer to
village pioneers, many of whom have been men-
tioned. The name of the county is immortal-
ized in Clinton avenue. The existence of a
spring near what is now Spring street, between
Walker and Higham streets, accounts for the
name of Spring street. I do not think any lots
were ever conveyed by the company as such
conveyances were made to different members of
the same, each caring for his own separate in-
terest. The bend in the road at the Scott road
was called 'Travelers1 Drunk/ and Travelers
and Sweeney, who located the line were
laughed at for making an angle in the road
when it could have been continued perfectly
straight. As a matter of fact, the angle was
made under the direction of Mr. Higham, so
the road would touch the St. Johns Company's
land at the most desirable point."
Relying upon the general rule as to the se-
lection of geographical and local names, the lat-
ter explanation in reference to the naming of
the new village "St. Johns," would seem to be
the most reasonable, and therefore the most
acceptable, r
The "first store opened for business in the new
village was under the proprietorship of John
Swegles, as before stated. John T. Newell
was the second merchant to open a store in St.
Johns, the building which he first occupied
standing on Clinton Avenue south of "Kipp's
Corners." M. E. Burroughs, who had become
a resident of DeWitt township, soon arrived
and built a log house upon the lot later occupied
by the post-office. He opened a meat market,
and John Hicks, a pioneer merchant at DeWitt
and later a St. Johns capitalist, furnished Bur-
roughs with a small stock of goods and he be-
came the poprietor of the third store in St.
Johns. In 1854 Olney Brown also became a
merchant in the village, and the saloon of J. C.
Sewell was soon doing business. The Gard-
ner House, which later became the Clinton
House, has been referred to. John Hicks
stated that he took dinner at this hostelry in
1856, and that conditions were such that the
rain fell inside as well as outside; guests in the
dining room being compelled to move from
place to place to avoid the rain. In 1855 Spen-
cer W. Gibbs bought four lots and built a hotel
which was called the Railroad Exchange. This
house was opened July 1, 1855. It was later
sold to David Sturgis and William L. Hicks,
when the name was changed and it was called
the St. Johns House. At this early date the
stumps had not been removed from Clinton
avenue, standing trees throughout the village
were numerous and logs lay in the streets. At
this early date, the west side of Clinton Ave-
nue was occupied by Sewell's saloon, a cabin
in which A. F. Cowell, afterward a prominent
business man of the village lived, and the tin
shop of Marshall Wilcox. Cowell opened a
store in 1856 and remained in business as a
merchant for many years thereafter. On the
east side of the Avenue was Swegles' store,
.Vrooman's boarding house, known then as the
Whittemore House, later as the Gibbs House,
Newell's store, the Clinton House, Deming's
shoemaking establishment, the painter Blaks-
lee's shop, and on the east Walker street stood
Burrough's meat market.
Dr. D. C. Stewart came to the village in the
fall of 1854. Dr. Darrell came to the village
about the same time, as did Dr. Louis W. Fas-
quelle, who remained a prominent practitioner
of Clinton county up to the time of his death.
Timothy Baker and Joseph W. Ransom were
the first attorneys to open offices in St. Johns.
John Crawley and Hiram Harrington began
business as blacksmiths at about this time. In
1855 James Styles, of Greenbush, took up a
residence at St. Johns and began to manufac-
ture splint bottomed chairs. In September of
the same year George W. Stephenson started
a tailoring shop on Clinton Avenue south of
Kipp's Corner, where he built Clinton Hall,
which was for many years utilized as a public
building. In 1855 John Swegles and N. P.
Stewart became possessed of Mead's interest
in the village property and Stewart soon had
control of the interest of Kibby and Swegles,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
54i
and sold a part of his acquisitions to Orville
Clark and Asahel Clark. After these trans-
fers, the proprietorship of St. Johns vested in
N. P. Stewart, B. C. Whittemore, Charles Dib-
ble, Robert Higham, Orville Clark and Asahel
Clark. Swegles continued after this time to
superintend and manage the affairs of the com-
pany.
At about this time David Sturgis, formerly
in business at DeWitt, came to St. Johns and
Doctors Stone and Leech each established a
drug store. Mention should be made of George
W. Emmons, a venerable St. Johns capitalist,
who, it was claimed, was the first white inhabi-
tant of the tract covered by the plat of the vil-
lage, having made a permanent settlement in
1852, although he located his property in 1845.
This community, whatever its limitations,
was nevertheless enterprising. On July 4th,
1854, the Fourth of July celebration was pre-
pared. The events of the day consisted of the
usual exercises, music and amusements. The
orator of the day was the new lawyer, James
W. Ransom. An Independence Day celebra-
tion was also held in 1855. The day's pro-
gram consisted of a dinner at Gibb's Railroad
Exchange.
Tradition is that the first white child born
in the village was a daughter of Charles Cobb,
the event occurring in the summer of 1855, the
child dying the following year. George A.
Estes, a well known St. Johns citizen at the
present time and a son of George W. Estes, the
pioneer, was the first male child born in the
village, his birthday being October 23, 1855.
The village of St. Johns was platted on
March 25, 1856, and the following is a copy
of the record :
"Know all men by these presents : That we,
Nelson P. Stewart, Sarah Ann Stewart, B. C.
Whittemore, Caroline Whittemore, Charles L.
Dibble, Sarah I. Dibble, Robert Higham, El-
vira Higham, Orville Clark, Delia M. Clark
and Asahel Clark, do by these presents set
apart and establish the following described
premises for a village, to be known and desig-
nated as the village of St. Johns ; to wit : That
part of the south half of section nine and that
part of the north half of section sixteen in
township 7 north of range two west, in the
county of Clinton, Michigan, commencing at
a point on the section line two hundred seventy-
seven feet east of the section corners of sections
eight, nine, sixteen and seventeen, in said town-
ship, at which point said street intersects
the west line of Ottawa street, running thence
south along the west line of Ottawa street one
thousand two hundred twenty-seven feet to a
point where the said west line of Ottawa street
intersects the south line of Baldwin street,
thence east and parallel with the section line be-
tween the sections nine and sixteen for a dis-
tance of two thousand eight hundred twenty-
two feet six inches to a point where the south
line of Baldwin street intersects the east line
of East street, thence north along the east line
of East street to a point where the east line of
East street intersects the north line of Railroad
street one hundred feet south from the center
line of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway;
thence west parallel with the center line of
said railway and one hundred feet therefrom
to a point where the north line of Railroad
street intersects the wTest line of Ottawa street,
thence south along the west line of Ottawa
street, to the place of beginning.
In witness whereof, we have hereunto set
our hands and seals this 25th day of March,
1856, by John Swegles, attorney in fact.
(Sgd) Nelson P. Stewart, Mary Ann Stew-
art, B. C. Whitemore, Caroline Whittemore,
Charles L. Dibble, Sarah I. Dibble, Robert
Higham, Elvira Higham, Orville Clark, De-
lia M. Clark, Asahel Clark.
In the Presence of: Timothy Baker, George
F. Mead."
Although the village plat was recorded in
1856, steps toward village incorporation were
not taken until the month of September, 1857.
The preliminary notice in connection with the
incorporation of the village was as follows:
"Notice is hereby given that the undersigned
legal voters residing in the territory herein-
after described, will at the next annual meeting
of the Board of Supervisors of Clinton county,
to be held at DeWitt on the first Monday of
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542
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
October next, make application to the said board
on the said day for an order of incorporation of
the following one square mile, as a village, to
be described by bounds as follows: 'Com-
mencing at a point where the quarter line of
section line intersects the section lines of eight
and nine; thence east along said quarter line
to a point where said line intersects the section
lines of nine and ten ; thence south to the south
line of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway;
thence west along the south line of said rail-
way, sixty-nine rods; thence south to the quar-
ter line on section sixteen; thence west along
the quarter line of sections sixteen and seven-
teen, three hundred and twenty -rods; thence
north to the south line of said railway, thence
east along the said line of the said railway to
the section lines of eight and nine; thence north
along the said last mentioned line to the afore-
said quarter line of section nine to the place
of beginning; in the township of Bingham,
county of Clinton and state of Michigan, to be
known and designated as the village of St.
Johns.
David Sturgis,
Henry Walbridge,
Stephen J. Wright,
John Hicks,
George F. Mead,
George W. Emmons.
J. H. Corbit,
S. W. Gibbs,
William H. Moote,
J. T. Newell,
William L. Hicks,
Charles Kipp,
William Weeks.
Seldom Munger,
A. M. Crawford,
J. E. Leech,
Joshua Gates,
A. Plumstead,
Wm. W. Flagler,
M. E. Palmer
(and others).
In accordance with the above petition, an
order of incorporation was entered by the
board of supervisors on October 15, 1857. John
Swegles, Charles Kipp and Alonzo Plumstead
were inspectors of the first election which was
held on the first Tuesday in March, 1858, at
what was then called Hicks' Hotel in the vil-
lage of St. Johns. The officers elected at this
time wrere as follows :
President — William H. Moote.
Clerk — John Ransom.
Treasurer — Alonzo Plumstead.
Trustees — John Swegles, George W. Ste-
phenson, David Sturgis, George W. Emmons,
William W. Flagler, and William L. Hicks.
Assessors — Marvin E. Palmer and Ransom
Plumstead.
Street Commissioners — S. T. Hayward,
Spencer W. Gibbs, John B. Lucas.
Marshal — George W. Estes.
Pound Master — Charles O. Styles.
At a meeting of the board of the village
trustees, April 17, 1858, village ordinances and
by-laws were adopted, and on April 24th, fol-
lowing, the street commissioners were author-
ized to enter into a contract with Marvin E.
Palmer for the grading of Clinton avenue at
sixteen cents per yard.
Several additions have been made to the vil-
lage plant, the first being made by George W.
Emmons in 1857, the addition being known as
Emmonsville and comprising land at the com-
mon section corner of sections eight, nine, six-
teen and seventeen, running west to the quarter-
section stake between sections eighteen and
seventeen, thence south along the quarter section
line of section seventeen, ninety-seven rods,
thence east parallel with the section line between
sections eight and seventeen to section line be-
tween sections sixteen and seventeen, thence
north along the said section line between sec-
tions sixteen and seventeen to the place of be-
ginning.
June 16, 1857, Clark and Holton's sub-
division of outlots numbered ten, eleven, twelve
and thirteen were platted. In 1858 Francis
Lynd's addition was platted, the same cover-
ing nine blocks bound by Morton street on the
west and Ionia street on the south, Lansing
street on the east and Railroad street on the
north. In 1865, A. H. Walker's addition of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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outlot "B" was added. In 1866 Gibbs' ad-
dition was platted by G. J. Gibbs. In the same
year DeWitt C. Hurd and William Sickels'
subdivision of out-lots "G" and "H" were
added. . April 1, 1870, Walker and Styles' sub-
division was platted, making- a material addi-
tion to the village, this subdivision comprising
the major portion of the village lying north of
the D. G. H. & M. Railroad. Vauconsant's ad-
dition was platted November 25, 1870, and Per-
rin's addition February 10, 1871. Other ad-
ditions that might be mentioned are Perrin's
second addition, bounded on the south and east
by Stout and Lansing streets; Avenue addition
at the extreme northern portion of the town
and Wolcott's addition north of Gibbs' street.
The years from 1856 to 1858 were prosper-
ous ones for the new village. The prospect of
the new railroad, the construction of which wras
a matter of a certainty, wras engaging. Land in
adjacent counties north and west was being
opened and the new village soon became a trade
center for a large expanse of territory. As a
natural consequence, new streets were added
and the population rapidly increased.
John H. Corbit, now a director of the State
Bank of St. Johns and a hardware merchant of
this city, was the pioneer hardware merchant
of the village. In the spring of 1856 he came
to St. Johns from New York state, where he
became owner of the tin shop of Marshall Wil-
cox and in the following September formed a
partnership with William H. Moote. During
the same year, Charles Kipp also engaged in
the hardware business at St. Johns, having been
engaged in a like trade at Rochester Colony.
A. F. Cowell soon opened a store. Lucas and
Wilson established themselves at the corner of
Walker street and Clinton avenue. Bliss &
Walton located a blacksmith shop and wagon
shop. On the 16th day of January, 1857, the
track of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad
was completed to St. Johns and on that day the
first passenger train arrived. It was during
this year that the village of St. Johns became
the county seat of Clinton county. R. M. Steel,
who up to the time of his death, was promi-
nently identified with Clinton county business
affairs, held the contract to lay the track of
the Detroit and Milwaukee road between
Owtosso and Grand Haven, and in i860 he be-
came a resident of the village of St. Johns.
The first school was taught in the village
in 1856 and in 1857 a school-house was built
upon the lot now owned by the Episcopal church
society. When the village was platted by its
promoters, land was set aside for churches and
a cemetery and for railway depots and yards.
In 1857 Alvah H. Walker owned five-twelfths
of the village and possessed the title to seven-
twelfths, and the remainder was owned by
Elvira Higham, C. L. Dibble, Orville Clark
and Asahel Clark. A grist mill was built by
John Swegles in 1857 at the corner of Higham
and Spring streets. This mill was burned and
later re-built. Wood & Son became the pro-
prietors and later the purchase passed to Wood
Brothers, and is now operated by George Wood.
The Prospect House which was built by
Lorenzo Hall in 1856 on Oakland street, north
of Walker street, was rebuilt by Swegles and
called the American. The building burned in
1863. In 1857 John Hicks, of DeWitt, came to
St. Johns and engaged in business with David
Sturgis; O. W. Munger became a St. Johns
merchant the same year. In 1857 the Plum-
stead Block was built by Alonzo Plumstead and
the building was counted as the finest store
building in the county. The building still
stands where it was built on Clinton avenue,
north of Walker street. John Ransom started
a newspaper, called the North Side Democrat;
Archelaus Silsbe built a foundry ; H. C. Hodge
opened a bank; W. W. Brainard had his car-
penter shop in Swegles' saw mill. The new
village was thoroughly alive and prosperous
when it was incorporated as has before been
noted, September 2, 1857. In 1858 a general
store was opened by John W. Payne. The first
brick store was built by Payne in i860, the
same being occupied later by A. Teachout. Dr.
A. M. Crawford built the first brick residence,
which subsequently became the Randolph
Strickland property. The opening of the De-
troit & Milwaukee Railroad to St. Johns made
that village an important shipping point for the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
county. John Hicks shipped the first carload
of wheat by rail in 1857. A considerable busi-
ness was done in timber products, principally
staves, and staves were shipped by this road
from Clinton county to distant markets.
Speaking of this earlier period, Mr. S. S.
Walker says: "The proprietors of St. Johns
in laying out the town, set aside for public use
or a court house, the square at the head of Clin-
ton avenue, the lot at the head of Spring street
for the Episcopal church and one at the head
of Ottawa street for a Presbyterian church.
The west half of the block where the Episcopal
church now stands was set aside or school pur-
poses. The court house square and the school
site were deeded with reversionary conditions,
to that if they ceased to be used for these pur-
poses, the title would revert to the original
owners. When the school house was built, Mr.
Alvah H. Walker redeeded, conveying his re-
versionary interest. A school house was built
on the site named — added to several times —
until in 1866 or 1867, by a vote of the school
district, the block where the Union school is
located was bought of Alonzo Plumstead and
a brick school building three stories in height
was built on that site, and by the vote of the
district, the old school building was sold at
auction. The original school-house site revert-
ing to Mr. Walker, he sold the south half of it
to Charles Eaton and subsequently gave the
north half of it to the Episcopal society which
was then ready to build. The Baptist church
was the first built in St. Johns on purchased
land. A Presbyterian society was early or-
ganized, as was also a Congregational society.
The Congregational society seemed to increase
most rapidly and about the time they were
ready to build, the Presbyterian organization
was abondoned and consolidated with the Con-
gregational society and the lot that was in-
tended for the Presbyterians became the site of
the present Congregational church. The Episco-
palians organized their society at an early date,
but it did not flourish. Several of the signers of
the original organization papers became con-
nected with the Congregational and Methodist
churches, and when the Methodist society was
ready to build, it asked for the lot set aside for
the Episcopalians. There being no organiza-
tion of that denomination then, and with the
promise of the leading Methodists that when
the Episcopalians were ready to build they
would give generous help, the consent of the
Episcopal society was secured. The lot was
deeded to the Methodist with reversionary pro-
visions in the conveyance. Very soon after
this a new Episcopal organization was made
and it flourished from the start. The north
half of the old school house site was deeded to
this new society by Mr. Walker. All of the
denominations held services during the early
days with considerable regularity. At one time
the Presbyterians held forth in Brainard's car-
penter shop on the corner of Walker and Spring
streets, the shop being swept out Saturday even-
ings and chairs and benches placed therein.
Plumstead Hall and Stephenson's Hall, over
the stores owned by them respectively, were
regularly occupied for services as soon as they
were built."
Referring to the early days of the village of
St. Johns, Samuel S. Walker, whose reminis-
censes of that period have been quoted above,
was the organizer and promoter of the Michi-
gan Mortgage Company. His father, Alvah
H. Walker, was a citizen of St. Johns and a
prominent factor in its development, as may be
inferred from the foregoing.
The opportunity is taken at this point to re-
fer more specifically to the careers of a few of
the prominent business men of the period prior
to 1880. Alvah H. Walker descended from
New England stock; among the early ances-
tors was a sailor and soldier of the Revolution-
ary war, who served with the famous John Paul
Jones. In 1805 the family settled in Western
New York near Fredonia, where Alvah H.
Walker became a prominent merchant of that
village, and so remained until 1855, when he
removed to Michigan. He served in the New
York state senate in two sessions and was a
factor in New York politics. In 1861 he came
to St. Johns with his family and engaged in
business with A. Teachout. He was President
of the village of St. Johns from 1869 to 1871,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
545
serving two terms in that capactiy. His death
occurred at St. Johns in 1891. Samuel S.
Walker, his son, was graduated from the Uni-
versity of Michigan in 1861 and returned to
St. Johns and engaged with his father as a
merchant. In 1865 he opened a private bank,
which later became the First National Bank of
St. Johns. He became cashier of that institu-
tion and also became heavily engaged in a real-
estate business. In 1877 he disposed of his
banking interests and devoted himself entirely
to a real-estate, loan and mortgage business.
The Michigan Mortgage Company he organ-
ized in 1888. Later he became a stockholder
in the new State Bank; was President of the
State Bank at Carson City, and a director of
the Charlevoix Savings Bank. He also took
part in the organization of the St. Louis and
Ovid banks and was interested in the Durand
Land Company, being its first president. He
was elected President of the village of St.
Johns in 1874 and re-elected in 1875 and in
1876. In 1874 he was chosen as the Clinton
county representative in the Michigan legisla-
ture. From 1876 to 1882 he was also a mem-
ber of the Board of Regents of the University
of Michigan and served in other important ad-
ministrative and trust capacities.
George W. Emmons has been herein referred
to as the oldest St. Johns settler. Mr. Emmons
platted Emmonsville or the Emmons addition
to the village of St. Johns. His father, Phi-
lanous Emmons, carried on his trade as a
cooper and mason at Romulus, Seneca
county, New York, George W. Emmons
was born at Romulus, New York, in
1823. When he was twelve years of age he
came to Michigan to Novi township, Oakland
county. The event of his coming to Michigan
was somewhat unusual. When he was twelve
years of age he bound out to one George Rog-
ers, with whom he remained for some time
after attaining his majority. He worked to
earn a tract of eighty acres of land valued by
Rogers at one hundred dollars. This piece of
land Mr. Emmons subsequently settled upon.
He came to St. Johns in the fall of 1844, mak-
ing the journey from Howell, in Livingston
county, on foot. He placed a road which after-
wards was known as Lansing street in St.
Johns. In 1855 he made his permanent home
upon this tract. He built a log shanty with a
roof of basswood and began improvements. He
made a clearing of twenty acres and planted it
to wheat. One hundred acres of this tract has
been settled and platted as Emmons' addition
to St. Johns. He sold lots from this plat and
soon became interested to a large extent in a
real-estate and loan business. He remained in
his shanty for four years, then built a frame
house, then a larger frame house, and finally
in 1884 he erected a magnificent brick residence
which is among the finest in central Michigan.
By industry and the exercise of good business
judgment Mr.' Emmons has accumulated a
considerable fortune. He is heavily interested
in the State Bank of St. Johns and is a director
of that institution.
Among the first merchants to begin business
in St. Johns John Hicks has been mentioned.
Mr. Hicks was a Canadian by birth and of
English descent. He located in DeWitt at an
early date, where he was employed as a clerk
and bookkeeper by David Sturgis, who was
engaged in a milling and mercantile business.
Later he became a partnef and so remained
until 1856, when he became a resident of the
newT county seat. Here he engaged in mercan-
tile enterprises as a dealer in dry goods and
staples and later became a grain buyer. As
has been stated, he shipped the first carload of
grain that left St. Johns by rail. He was
chairman of the committee who supervised the
erection of the court house and jail; was first
vice-president of the First National Bank, and
for many years served as its president. He
subsequently erected an elevator and grain
warehouse and also engaged in handling coal
and became the heaviest coal dealer in St.
Johns. He acquired large timber interests in
the south and west which subsequently proved
to be very profitable investments. Until his
death he was active in business affairs. His
son, John C. Hicks, succeeded him as mer-
chant, grain buyer and coal dealer, in wrhich
lines of business he is at present engaged at St.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Johns. It may be said in this connection that
Mr. Hicks erected two brick buildings in St.
Johns and with R. M. Steel erected a three-
story brick block which was known as the
Hicks-Steel block. He was also interested in
enterprises elsewhere, formerly having two
stores in Gratiot county, one at Bridgeville
and one at Pompeii; that he was also interested
in stave buying, the stock which he purchased
being shipped to Detroit and the east. For a
number of years he owned a farm of one hun-
dred sixty acres in Essex township and was
for a period proprietor and manager of the St.
Joseph Foundry and Agricultural Works.
Among other investments was a plantation in
Florida and a ranch in Nebraska. He was one
of the organizers of the First Methodist Epis-
copal church and served at one time as chair-
man of the Democratic county committee.
John H. Corbit has been mentioned as the
pioneer hardware merchant of the village. He
also arrived in 1856. That year he put on the
market a general stock of goods which was
shipped from Buffalo, New York, to Fenton,
Michigan, from which point it was transferred
to St. Johns by means of wagons. The firm
of Corbit & Moote, formation of which has been
mentioned, carried on the business for three
years, when Mr. Corbit became sole owner and
proprietor, and in 1870 built a large store build-
ing which he still occupies. Later he engaged
heavily in handling agricultural implements,
the firm being known as Corbit & Valentine.
Mr. Corbit has been interested in the erection
of several buildings in St. Johns and now owns
considerable village property. George S. Cor-
bit, his brother, came to St. Johns the year
after the arrival of John H. The two brothers
built the Independent office, George S. Corbit
later becoming sole owner. He also was instru-
mental in the building of the St. Johns Hotel
and was one of the organizers of the State Bank
of St. Johns and is at present a director thereof.
He was a charter member of the St. Johns Gas
Company and has filled positions of trust in the
community.
Asher Teachout has been mentioned as a St.
Johns merchant of the earlier period. He came
to the state of Michigan from New York state
when but a lad. Here he resided in Lenawee
county. He came to St. Johns at an early date
and engaged with D. C. Hurd in a grocery busi-
ness and was later associated with Alvah H.
Walker. In 1882 he built the Teachout block
which is at present occupied by the modern dry
goods store of George H. Chapman.
In 1857 O- W. Munger, a well known St.
Johns capitalist and banker and produce buyer
of the present day, came to the little village of
St. Johns. After looking the ground over, he
started for New York to purchase a stock of
goods. After three years of effort Mr. Mun-
ger was able to purchase the interest of his
brother in the store. In 1861 a disastrous fire
destroyed his stock and left him financially dis-
abled. Because of the excellent credit he had
established for himself, he was enabled to go
on with his business. He also helped organize
the First National Bank and served as a director
of that institution for some time. In 1885 ne
helped organize the State Bank of St. Johns
and was made its first president. He is still
heavily interested in that institution.
Charles E. Grisson, who at one time was
connected with the financial institutions of the
village, was a veteran of the Civil war. He
entered the Union army from the University
of Michigan in 1861 as a private in Company
"D" of the Fourth Michigan Infantry. In
1862 he was made second lieutenant of the
Twenty-sixth Michigan Infantry and in 1863
had risen to the rank of first lieutenant. He
became adjutant in 1864 and later captain, and
in March, 1865, was brevetted major of the
United States Volunteers. He was wounded
on the field of Spottsylvania and after rejoin-
ing his regiment was retained on the staff of
General Nelson A. Miles and was mustered
out of the service in 1866. He was one of the
guards that had charge of Jefferson Davis at
Fortress Monroe. After leaving the service,
he took a prominent part in military affairs of
the state of Michigan and was instrumental in
the raising of the standard of the state militia.
He served on Governor Bagley's staff for two
terms. Because of his position and services the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
547
title of Colonel was given him, by which he
was thereafter known and addressed. He be-
came president of the State Military Board and
was active in the affairs of the Grand Army of
the Republic. The G. A. R. post at St. Johns
was named in his honor the Charles E. Gris-
son post, No. 156. After making his home at
St. Johns, he was for a time engaged in the
grocery business. He then became the teller
of the first National Bank, in wrhich capacity
he served for eleven years. In 1877 ne an<^
Alvin Shaver started a private bank, known as
Shaver & Grisson's Bank, which merged later
into the State Bank of St. Johns. His death
occurred at St. Johns on November 20, 1882.
The village of St. Johns and vicinity owe a
great deal to the business career of Robert M.
Steel. His ancestors came to America in 1830,
where they settled in the state of Vermont.
William Steel, his father, engaged at that place
in the business of contracting and building.
Robert M. Steel was born at Crasburg, Ver-
mont, in 1833. He received the customary aca-
demic education and served as an apprentice
under his father and became a competent car-
penter. When but a youth he went to Toronto
and entered the employ of the Grand Trunk
Railroad Company as a timekeeper. Two
months later he was given a position as fore-
man on the road that was being built between
Toronto and Sarnia. He later entered into
partnership with Hayden & Ross, who had
taken the contract to build the Detroit & Mil-
waukee Railroad. In order to carry out his
work, he moved to St. Johns in 1856. The
terms of the contract were complied in the fall
of 1858 and the next year he assumed the
responsibility of laying the Grand Trunk from
Detroit to Port Huron. At the same time he
was concerned with the W. A. Stearns Com-
pany in the building of a road from Three
Rivers to Arthaska in Canada, a thirty-eight
mile route. In 1859 both contracts were com-
pleted. In 1862 Steel, with his former partner,
Ross, entered into a deal under the firm name
of Ross & Steel, to build the Kansas Pacific, a
route of three hundred sixty miles. This firm
had already located one hundred miles of the
line and had twenty-five miles graded when
the company disposed of its franchises to other
parties. Steel then formed a partnership under
the firm name of Ellithorpe, Adams & Steel,
and engaged in the building of stone bridges
for the city of Leavenworth, Kansas. Subse-
quently the task of building the Hannibal &
St. Joseph Railroad fell to his hands. In 1870
Steel contracted to build ninety miles of the St.
Louis and Southeastern Railroad. In 1872 he
completed a contract to build the Carroll &
Vincennes route, a distance of one hundred
sixty-eight miles with culverts and bridges.
These are not all of the railroad erecting enter-
prises in which Mr. Steel was engaged. He
was the originator of the St. Johns Manufac-
turing Co., and was the principal stockholder
and president of that institution. He also was
prominent in the affairs of the St. Johns Na-
tional Bank and the Clinton County Savings
Bank. He was president of the Whipple Har-
row Co., the St. Johns Evaporator and Pro-
duce Co., the St. Johns Electric Light, Heat &
Power Co., and of the Mutual Gas Co. He
was also partner in the retail furniture business
which was operated under the firm name of
R. M. Steel & Co. He also held an interest in
the hardware business of Nixon & Co., and was
president of the St. Johns Mercantile Co. In
1887 the Steel Hotel, which is the finest hotel
building in St. Johns, he erected at a cost of
sixty-five thousand dollars. He also owned
large real-estate interests in the village. In
1879 Mr. Steel engaged in his contracting
business near the western coast. He became
owner of a large stock ranch in Oregon and
became interested in mercantile, milling, min-
ing and lumbering interests at different points
in the west. He was a stockholder in the Mer-
chants' National Bank at Portland, was presi-
dent of the First National at Island City and of
the La Grand National of La Grand, and vice-
president of the First National Bank of Union.
The great financial disaster which overtook the
Steel interests subsequently will be referred to
herein. Whatever the cause of the situation
that developed, it may be safely said that Rob-
ert M. Steel was not to be censured, and it is
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
probably true that it is largely through his ef-
forts and his local investments that the city of
St. Johns as we have it today, exists.
Oliver L. Spaulding, who has for years oc-
cupied a position connected with the Federal
Department of the Treasury, was another of
the pioneers of St. Johns village. His career
has been prominently identified with the af-
fairs of the village and of Clinton county
since he became a citizen thereof. He is a
native of New Hampshire and began the prac-
tice of law at the village of St. Johns in 1858.
He began his military service in 1862 as Cap-
tain of the Twenty-third Michigan Volunteer
Infantry. His rise in the ranks was a rapid
one, he being appointed successively major, lieu-
tenant colonel and colonel, being senior officer
in command of the regiment from the time he
received his commission as major in 1863. At
the close of the war he was in command of the
Second Division of the Twenty-third Army
Corps and was brevetted Brigadier General of
the United States Volunteers, June 25, 1865.
He was elected a regent of the State University
in 1858, which position he retained until 1864.
He was elected Secretary of State in 1868.
By appointment of President Grant he was
made special agent of the Treasury Department
in 1875. Politically influential, he was made
a member of the state central committee of the
republican party in 1870 and his congressional
career began when the republican convention
held at Owosso nominated him by acclamation
for republican representative for the Sixth dis-
trict, August 5, 1880. After honorably and
successfully serving his district in congress,
General Spaulding was appointed Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury, which appointment
was a recognition of his remarkable execu-
tive ability. During his career as a practitioner
at St. Johns he enjoyed the patronage and con-
fidence of a large clientage, and although his
affairs at Washington required his continued
attention, his name until recently was connected
with the records of the Clinton county court
under the firm name of Spaulding, Norton &
Dooling. It will be noted that General Spauld-
ing came to St. Johns in 1858 and in a letter
of reminiscences of that period he gives an ex-
cellent view of conditions as they existed in the
village at an early period. His letter in part
is as follows:
"Clinton Avenue was quite a steep hill, but
the filling at the lower end and the grading have
much changed it. When I first knew it, water
stood on the flats except at dry periods. A
stream of water flowed between the present
sites of the court house and the Methodist
church, and in front of the church was a log
bridge. Part of the old 'angling road' that
ran 'across lots' from the Elder Lamb place
across the court house square past the site of
the Episcopal church, across where the railroad
afterward made the 'deep cut' and below the
bridge past the cemetery grounds on to Roches-
ter Colony. Before the angling road was made
the Colony people went to DeWitt, the county
seat, by a wood road east of St. Johns, now
called the Scott road because it led to Scott's
at DeWitt, the best they could, through woods
and swamps, fording the streams, as there were
no bridges. DeWitt was early known as
Scott's from Captain Scott who settled there
and built a hotel, an immense affair in those
days. Laingsburg was named from the pro-
prietor of the log tavern, who founded the
town. 'Laing's,' 'Scott's,' 'Lyon's' and
Ionia were prominent points on the Grand River
road from DeWitt to Grand Rapids. Lansing
and St. Johns were then undreamed of, but this
is leading away from St. Johns. The first
school meeting I attended was in the unfinished
house across the street from Mr. Upton's, later
called the Ash place. A public school had been
held in it the previous summer. School was
at one time held opposite the present post-office
and afterwards where the Episcopal church is
now. That whole block was set aside for the
public schools by John Swegles and the site of
the Methodist church was intended for the
Episcopal church. The Methodists were able
to build first, so the lot was made over to them
and later the citizens 'chipped in' to buy the
bell — the first in town. Later, as the school lot
ceased to be used as a school, it reverted to the
proprietors. This right having been purchased
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
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bv Mr. A. H. Walker, one quarter of the lot
was given to the Episcopal church. The other
churches were built on the lots originally as-
signed to them. The first county fair was held
on the Baptist lot. A very rough frame build-
ing had been erected through the work of Elder
Lamb. This was the Hall of 'Exhibits.' Across
the slashing west of the church, now the street,
there was tied to a wire fence, one disconsolate,
lonely calf, the entire live stock of the exhibi-
tion. The fair grounds were reached from the
town through a field of blackened stumps. I
remember helping to log off the court house
square. One of our evening recreations used
to be burning stumps on the square and Clinton
Avenue. The first Sunday-school I was inter-
ester in was established by the Reverend Mr.
Mills, a Presbyterian. A literary society
called the 'Lyceum' was organized in 1857-
1858 and flourished for some years. Every-
body attended. It was popular and a great
success. A dozen or so of us young fellows —
we were all young then — did the oratory and a
good choir did the singing. One popular solo
by a man you will remember, but whose name
escapes me, ended, as I remember it, in these
lines that always brought down the house,
'And he choked on a hair of his own mous-
tasche.'
"J- W. Ransom, John Ransom, H. C. Hodge,
W. H. Moote, Timothy Baker and H. M.
Perrin were active members, as were Henry
Walbridge and others of the old-timers. Later
P. K. Perrin and Joel Cranson came to town
and took part in it. As I look back it is
brought home to me that I alone survive, unless
J. W. Ransom is living. He was several years
older than I and the last I knew of him he was
living in Portland, Oregon. * * * "
Mrs. Oliver L. Spaulding is the daughter of
John Swegles, founder of the village. Mrs.
Spaulding's recollection of the early days of
St. Johns is set forth in a paper prepared by
her for the Ladies' Literary Club at St. Johns,
and is as follows :
"My father was Auditor-General. We were
living in Lansing and knowing of the projected
railroad, at that time called the Oakland and
Ottawa, he, associated with two other state
officers, purchased the land now occupied by
this city. My father laid out the place on paper
and then" secured the assistance of a very able
civil engineer. He built a good dwelling house
away back from the street on the lots north of
the National Bank. Here the engineers with
their helpers lived while the work was going
on, and here we afterward lived. I first saw
the place as the engineers were closing their
work. On each side of Clinton Avenue from
the court house square to the railroad, were
piled long rows of brush and logs. My father
called my attention to the imposing picture the
future court house would make from the rail-
road. There was a pretty brook with steep
banks running through the place diagonally
from the court house square east past our house.
This was fed by springs that gave to Spring
street its name. One of the first needs in build-
ing the town was lumber. So my father built
a saw-mill and later a large flouring mill, which
was burned and afterwards rebuilt and is now
'Wood's Mill.' He also started a general
store which at first was quite a curiosity. We
were not the real pioneers, but to those who
came before us belong the name and honor.
The first hotel was a small one north of Mr.
Warner Bunday's residence, with a sign, 'Pros-
pect House by L. Hall' It served its purpose
for a time, but before the railroad came my
father said there must be a first class hotel, so
he built one, bringing furniture and fittings
from DeWitt. St. Johns was for a long time
the terminus of the railroad. There was a line
of great stage coaches running daily and at the
session of the legislature, twice a day, to Lan-
sing, as this was the most direct road before
the 'Ram's Horn' was built. When we first
came here there were no schools, so my mother
sent for her sister, who taught us at home. So
many others desired their children to receive
instruction that she finally rented a room about
where A. O. Hunt's drug store now stands.
The next year Miss Kinmond took her place,
my aunt desiring to return east. Several pri-
vate schools were established at various times.
The first public school was taught by Jay Wil-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
cox. Mrs. Mary Richmond was another early
teacher. The first school house was built on
the present site of the Episcopal church, but
later persons desiring to improve the southern
part of the town, secured the removal of the
school to its present location, where it opened
with Mr. Nixon as superintendent. With the
exception of Mr. George W. Emmons and Mr.
George W. Estes, I am the oldest inhabitant of
St. Johns ; in fact the only lady now living who
recalls the very early days."
The Hon. Henry M. Perrin' s connection
with St. Johns affairs has already been referred
to in connection writh his term as Judge of
Probate of Clinton county. It will be remem-
bered that Mr. Perrin was an influential mem-
ber of the state legislature, being elected to that
office November 8, 1864. Mr. Perrin's career
was prominently identified with the progress
of Clinton county, as well as with the city of
St. Johns. After he became interested in marsh
lands which lay north of St. Johns and are still
known as the "Perrin Marsh," and while a
member of the state legislature, he procured
the passage of the first drain law of the state
of Michigan. At this time this statute was
largely an experiment and great difficulty in
carrying out its provisions was encountered.
A small ditch was made in the Perrin marsh
and one in the Chandler marsh in Bath town-
ship. Attempts were made to drain the bot-
toms along Stony Creek, but there was much
opposition of the most bitter kind and the law
was crude and defective and consequently little
was accomplished. The sentiment against the
drain law7 at that time was well nigh prohibi-
tive.
Randolph Strickland, known in his day as
one of the leading members of the Clinton
county bar, must be mentioned as a St. Johns
citizen whose career had an important influence
on the trend of events in the village and county.
He was a native of Livingston county, New
York, and came to Michigan in 1844. He
studied law two years in Portland, Ionia
county, and in 1847 entered the law office of
Joe Baker at DeWitt, where he continued his
residence until his admission to the bar in 1849.
He was prosecuting attorney of Clinton county
from 1852 to 1858 and again in 1862. He
was state senator from i860 to 1862, provost
marshal from 1863 to x865, and served as a
member of the republican state central com-
mittee, as a delegate to the national convention
in 1856 and in 1858 was the congressman from
his district in the Forty-first Congress, and
served on the committees on Invalid Pensions
and Mines and Mining. He changed his loca-
tion from DeWitt to the village of St. Johns
in 1862. In 1878 the greenback party made an
attempt to carry the county elections. Ran-
dolph Strickland joined the greenbackers and
wearing a new plug hat, stumped the county,
traveling from place to place with an old gray
horse. He was nominated by the greenbackers
for prosecuting attorney. Although an ex-
congressman, he made fifty school house
speeches during the campaign and was defeated.
During that campaign the Democrats took to
"hard money and free trade."
Captain Henry Walbridge began the prac-
tice of law in the village of St. Johns in 1856.
He served as prosecuting attorney for the
county for several different terms during his
career as an attorney. He joined the Union
army in 1862 and raised Company "G" of the
Twenty-third Michigan Infantry, of which
company he was made captain. After two
years of service, on account of ill health he was
compelled to return to private pursuits and be-
gan anew his practice at St. Johns. Here he
remained until sometime in 1888, when he lo-
cated in Ithaca in Gratiot county, later return-
ing to his home village. Mr. Walbridge took
part in the campaign of 1896, known as the
"Free Silver campaign."
Warner Bunday came to St. Johns in 1868
and is now engaged in a retail business and is
one of the few St. Johns business men who
were engaged in business during this early
period.
Alonzo Hunt, who was a member of the
firm of Hunt Brothers, druggists, began busi-
ness in St. Johns in the same year, and is to the
present date in active charge of his store.
In 1871 David S. French came to the village
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
55i
of St. Johns from Piqua, Ohio, as secretary of
what has since been known as the St. Johns
Manufacturing Company. Mr. French served
in this capacity during the life of that corpora-
tion and at present resides upon his estate in
Greenbush township, where he conducts a large
farm. He is also interested in several St. Johns
business enterprises.
Life in St. Johns village during pioneer days
is interestingly portrayed in a letter of reminis-
censes from Mrs. W. W. Brainard, written at
Loyal ton, California, October 6, 1905, to the
Ladies' Literary Club of St. Johns, which is in
part given below :
"Imagine, if you please, a small party leav-
ing the City of Cleveland, Ohio, in the summer
of 1856, in quest of a location for a home in
Michigan, and fancy our surprise when we
reached Owosso to find that we could proceed
no farther by rail. My husband and brother pro-
cured a conveyance and I sent them on to spy
out the land. Flowever, they did not remain
forty days, nor did they bring back a report
that the people were overgrown physically nor
the fruit unusually large; but they returned
reporting a little inland town with wide-awake
people and fine opportunities for an energetic
lumberman and builder. We had nothing to
conquer but circumstances and environments.
I had a pleasant time in the little village of
Owosso while awaiting their return, and we
then turned back to wait for the completion
of the railroad and we were among the first to
'bump' over its new road. On reaching the
end of the line, or the jumping-off place, as it
looked to me, we were met by Dr. Leech, who
piloted us up the streets between stumps and
over mud-holes to the American House, kept
by Mr. and Mrs. John Swegles. We were ready
with many others, to do ample justice to a din-
ner of baked pork and beans, with elderberry
pie and the scent of new pine for desert. * *
* Our friends had not been able to secure
even a shanty for us to live in, and to the
question, 'Can we stay at the hotel for a few
days or weeks ?' the hostess replied, 'Am sorry,
but we are crowded. We can board you, but
have no room.' That was a predicament, but
35
Dr. and Mrs. Leech came to the rescue with a
welcome to their home, a very large room back
of the drug store. I think the building still
stands remodeled, a few doors north of the
St. Johns House (now the Steel), once occu-
pied by William Hicks. In that back room
were two beds curtained off, a little crib in
which slept a fine baby boy, one large cook
stove, dining and kitchen tables and a cup-
board. Imagine, if you please, that four adults
and the baby lived in that one room. In a few
days a German, very homesick for his West-
phalia, sold his little home to us. It sood on
the corner where the residence of William
Cochran now stands. We liked it because it
was near the corner where we had already
bought. This little house was all ready and
gave me something to do in sweeping out the
sand which kept sifting through the cracks of
the ceiling. The space between clapboards and
the ceiling was filled with sand, the pioneer
mortar. The road east of us was newly laid
out. Beyond us were the beautiful, dreadful
woods, close enough to make one afraid of In-
dians and snakes — they were the terror of my
days. * * * When the Indian, old
'Tuggy Michigan,' in his faded finery, called
too often for bread, I would take my sewing or
reading and sit within calling distance of my
husband when our house was being built and
the clearing was being made. Mr. Brainard
soon had a saw-mill set up in a rented building
near the railroad, and turning out boards, but
they were unfit for immediate use. All dry
timber had to be brought from Craven's Mill,
as I remember, a distance of forty miles. In
the fall of 1857 we moved into our new house,
the same practically as it stands today. I
think that early in 1858, a little one-story
school house was built where the Episcopal
church now stands. West of us was Timothy
Baker's house, north a vacant lot, and south
Fasquelle's corner. The first sermon I heard
was by Elder Gunderman, where the Baptist
church now stands. They had commenced a
clearing for the church. The seats were rough
boards across log stumps, with an improvised
platform for the minister. After that we had
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
preaching once in two weeks, alternating be-
tween a Presbyterian and a Methodist circuit
minister. The meetings were first held over
Stephenson's store and afterwards in Plum-
stead Hall. It was here we gathered in i860
to sew and scrape lint for the soldiers in the
south — the first relief corps. No pioneer story
is complete without a bear. In 1858 nuts in the
woods were scarce and Bruin was induced too
near habitation. Brave men were soon on his
trail, and the creature running directly through
our front yard, was finally shot on the court
house lawn. The sign, 'Keep off the Grass/
was not then visible. * * * "
George S. Corbit states that where the
Methodist church site now is, was in the early
days a regular frog-pond, which was used as a
dumping ground; that the same is true as re-
gards the site now occupied by the residences
of C. E. Ball and R. M. Steel. In those days
trade was peculiar. It began at ten o'clock in
the morning and closed at about four o'clock
in the afternoon. People came to St. Johns
from within a radius of forty miles. Plum-
stead & Sons often sold as high as nine hun-
dred dollars' worth of goods in one day. From
1856 to 1857 the population of the village did
not exceed three hundred. The fire protection
consisted of a bucket brigade — a volunteer or-
ganization. Pigeons were shot off the trees
on Clinton Avenue; during the smoky season
bear and deer came within the limits of the
town. Two-wheeled ox carts were very com-
mon as being most convenient vehicles to be
used upon the primitive roads. Trade with
money was gold entirely, as all the money
which came to this new country was brought
by parties from the east. The Clinton House
stood on the site of the Emmons block at the
corner of Clinton Avenue and State street, and
Mr. Corbit relates his first experience as a voter
as follows : "The booths were in this hotel and
the voters voted through a window from the
outside. Randolph Strickland was in charge
of the election and as the young voter stepped
up to vote through the window, his question,
'Are you a voter, sir?' given in a severe man-
ner, thoroughly frightened the young citizen."
Mention has been made of the foundry which
was established in 1857 by Archelaus Silsbe.
The principal product of this foundry was plow
points and general castings. William H.
Moote who has been mentioned in con-
nection with the firm of Corbit &
Moote became a partner in this enterprise. In
1873 John Hicks, the St. Johns capitalist and
merchant, became interested in this concern.
The establishment of the St. Johns Foundry &
Agricultural Works followed. General ma-
chine castings and the "Victor Mower" were
the products. The property and plant after be-
ing operated for a time under the Hicks man-
agement, passed into other hands. Within
recent years, the firm of Frank Weller and
William Daggett operated the business until
Mr. Weller's decease. Since that time Mr.
Daggett has become proprietor of the concern
which is now known as the St. Johns Iron
Works. The foundry now does general cus-
tom work and is engaged in the manufacture of
a double-expansion road culvert which is hav-
ing a large sale throughout the country.
Of all the manufacturing industries which
have contributed to the prosperity of St. Johns,
the St. Johns Manufacturing Company's en-
terprise is probably the most important. Until
the removal of the business to the city of Cadil-
lac, Michigan, in the fall of 1905, the table
factory has furnished employment to a large
number of men and has distributed a great deal
of money at St. Johns. The origin of this
institution may be traced to the arrival of W.
W. Brainard in 1857. He came to St. Johns
from the state of Ohio with his carpenter tools
and set up his carpenter shop in a portion of
the promoting company's saw-mill, which he
rented and carried on in connection with his
business as a contractor and builder. The next
year after his arrival he left the mill and bought
a place on Walker street, a building which had
been erected by Wilbur Ash in 1857. This
he occupied as a carpenter shop arid later as a
cabinet shop. Brainard put in some machinery
and began the business of manufacturing cabi-
nets. He remained at this place two years,
when he again moved to Spring street south of
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
553
Walker street, where he erected a factory of
considerable proportions. At this place the firm
of Brainard & Andrews (Charles B. Andrews
being the second member) carried on a furni-
ture manufacturing industry until 1868. On
January 9th of that year, the St. Johns Manu-
facturing Company was organized by R. M.
Steel, William Steel, W. W. Brainard, Oliver
Hiddon and J. L. Paldi, who purchased the
property and business of Brainard & Andrews.
R. M. Steel was named president of the new
company, J. L. Paldi its secretary, and W. W.
Brainard its superintendent. The corporation
was chartered with a capital stock of one hun-
dred twenty thousand dollars and began at once
the erection of large factory buildings at what
was then the north edge of the village near the
railroad track. While the new buildings were
under process of construction, the old factory on
Spring street was burned in December, 1868.
The only article saved from the fire was an
adz. In spite of its loss, the company, how-
ever, proceeded with energy to complete its
new factory and in March, 1869, the St. Johns
Manufacturing Company started its plant with
a force of thirty men. The main building was
ninety-six feet in length by fifty feet in width,
two stories in height and with a basement. The
ground floor was used for boiler and engine
rooms and the upper floors as shop rooms. Ad-
ditions were soon made to be utilized as store-
houses. Extensive timber tracts were pur-
chased in Gratiot county and elsewhere and
saw-mills were built and operated in connec-
tion with the manufacturing industry, and the
company engaged considerably in the lumber
business. In 1874 the capacity of the plant
was further increased and the buildings en-
larged until the plant covered six acres of
ground. J. L. Paldi was succeeded as secre-
tary in 1870 by David S. French, and for years
R. M. Steel, William Steel and W. W. Brain-
ard were the only stockholders. For a period
the company manufactured a variety of arti-
cles, but soon devoted itself to the manufacture
of tables, holding a valuable patent upon exten-
sion slides for extension tables. Their product
was shipped to all parts of the world, and in
1879 two million feet of pine and five hundred
thousand feet of hardwood were consumed by
the company. The further history of this in-
dustry will be treated in connection with the
R. M. Steel failure.
In 1875 the St. Johns Co-operative Company
was formed. The founders were Alfred S.
Fildew, Ira D. Nichols, D. L. Nichols and
Frank Fildew. The company was organized
to engage in the manufacture of doors, sashes
and blinds. In 1879 I. D. Nichols was acci-
dentally killed in the factory, and the concern
soon passed under the control of Fildew Broth-
ers, who subsequently added a spoke factory
to the plant. Alfred S. Fildew was president
and secretary of this company. It did a general
contracting and building business. At the
time of the addition of the spoke factory men-
tioned, a reorganization was effected, and Mr.
Fildew became secretary. Timber becoming
scarce in the vicinity, a change was made and
what is now known as the Cooper Boiler & En-
gine Company was established. This concern
was operated but a short time when the enter-
prise was abandoned.
In 1857 H. C. Hodge started the pioneer
bank of the village of St. Johns on the west
side of Clinton Avenue. This bank was a
small concern with limited assets, but was an
important enterprise to the new village in its
day. The proprietor of this business continued
to loan money until 1864, after which time
Timothy Baker and A. G. Higham conducted a
bank under the firm name of Baker & Higham,
which business was soon abandoned. In 1864
Samuel S. Walker opened a banking office in
the store of O. W. Munger. In 1877 Shaver
& Grisson founded a private bank which for
several years occupied quarters in the Steel
Block. The pioneer bank of St. Johns is the
St. Johns National Bank, which has been doing
business for upwards of forty years. This in-
stitution is the successor of the First National
Bank of St. Johns. The charter of the First
National Bank was issued in 1865. The first
president was Charles Kipp, and as has been
stated, the late John Hicks became the first
vice-president and Samuel S. Walker, cashier.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
The capital of this institution was fixed at
fifty thousand dollars. The first charter ex-
pired in 1885 and at that time the name was
changed to the present one. S. S. Walker was
succeeded by C. E. Ball as cashier in 1877,
who was in turn succeeded by Galusha Pennell,
who is at present connected with the institution
in an official way. Mr. PenneH's administra-
tion was followed by Peter E. Walsworth, who
at present is a member of the real-estate
and money-loaning firm of Baldwin &
Walsworth. R. C. Decker, the present cash-
ier, followed Mr. Walsworth, he having
served the bank in various capacities for
a term of years prior to becoming cashier.
The progress of this banking institution has
been gradual and substantial. Its development
is indicated by the fact that in 1880 its deposits
amounted to $76,649.00 on a given date, while
on a corresponding date of 1905, the amount
of deposits was $192,855.00. The career of
this bank has been one of sound conservatism.
It is one of the banking institutions of central
Michigan which lived thro' the financial
panic of 1892-96; the fact being that during
that stormy period this bank was at all times
well protected. John C. Hicks is president;
Galusha Pennell, vice-president; R. C. Dexter,
cashier. The present board of directors are
Warner Bunday, C. E. Ball, O. P. DeWitt,
C. C. Vaughan, P. E. Walsworth, John C.
Hicks, Galusha Pennell. Claud Briggs occu-
pies the position of teller; Lloyd Webster is
note clerk; and Hugh Kniffin is bookkeeper.
The State Bank of St. Johns, another strong
financial institution of the county, was organ-
ized in 1885. O. W. Munger was its first pres-
ident, George F. Marvin its vice-president, and
Alvin Shaver, cashier. Following Mr. Shaver,
Edward Brown and D. H. Powers have served
the bank as cashier. In 1890 Porter K. Perrin
became president, which position he held almost
continuously to the day of his death. In 189 1
John W. Fitzgerald became cashier and remains
in that capacity to the present date. Fifteen
years ago the bank's deposits amounted to
$78,000. In a period of five years they had in-
creased approximately to $100,000.00. At the
present time #the deposits amount to upwards
of $425,000.00. The savings department of
this bank has shown remarkable development,
Cashier Fitzgerald having given especial atten-
tion to this branch of the bank's business. The
bank is conservative in the matter of securities,
a large proportion being first mortgage real-
estate loans.
The officers of the bank at the present date
are as follows: President, O. W. Munger; vice-
president, John H. Corbit; cashier, John W.
Fitzgerald; board of directors, Dr. G. E. Cor-
bin, Otis Fuller, Jesse Sullivan, F A. Travis,
George W. Emmons, Charles T. Babcock, O.
W. Munger, John H. Corbit and J. W. Fitz-
gerald. Directors Munger, Corbit, Emmons,
Sullivan and Fuller have served in that capac-
ity since the organization of the first board of
directors. The present teller is Frank L.
Thome, who has been connected with the bank
for upwards of five years. He succeeded Rod-
ney Beebe, who for years served the bank effi-
ciently in the capacity of teller. Arthur Jury
and Ellsworth Tallmadge are also connected
with the bank.
The Clinton County Savings Bank confines
its business to savings accounts exclusively. It
was organized in 1889 witn a capital stock of
$35,000.00. Its first president was Albert J.
Baldwin; Galusha Pennell, vice-president; P.
E. Walsworth, treasurer; R. C. Dexter, assist-
ant treasurer. After seven years of business,
its savings amounted to upwards of one hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars. The savings
deposits certificates held by the institution at
the present time, amount to approximately
$430,000.00. The bank confines its invest-
ments to bonds and mortgages and other first-
class securities. The official roll of the bank
is as follows: President, A. J. Baldwin; vice-
president, Galusha Pennell ; secretary and treas-
urer, R. C. Dexter; teller, Lloyd Webster. On
the board of directors are John C. Hicks, C. C.
Vaughan, Warner Bunday, C. E. Ball, O. P.
DeWitt, F. A. Percey, A. J. Baldwin, Galusha
Pennell and P. E. Walsworth. In this con-
nection it is well to mention the St. Johns
Building & Loan Association.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
555
This institution has been an important factor
in the development of the village and city of St.
Johns. This is a very prosperous institution
and is founded upon a stable basis. It was or-
ganized in 1890 and began doing business Janu-
ary 6th of that year. Its first officers were, presi-
dent, T. N. Lee; vice-president, D. S. French;
secretary, R. C. Dexter; treasurer, C. E. Ball.
These persons, with E. C. Whetstone and T.
C. Beach, constituted the board of directors.
In a short time Frank M. Spaulding became
secretary of the concern and has so remained
to the present date. The present officers are:
President, C. C. Vaughan; vice-president,
Charles Fowler; secretary, F. M. Spaulding;
treasurer, R. C. Dexter; who in addition to the
following persons constitute the board of direct-
ors : A. E. Richardson, John C. Hicks, J. B.
Dodge, JVI. D., William M. Smith and John
T. Millman. In 1891 the amount paid in on
shares was $9,961.00, and $10,375.00 was in-
vested in first mortgage securities.
In a published statement issued in 1904 the
amount paid in on shares is stated to aggre-
gate $73,328.70, with $81,125.00 invested in
securities, and with $10,871.45 in undivided
profits. In its practical working, this associ-
ation is a valuable institution to the community
in general. It aids the citizens of St. Johns in
becoming owners of homes and fosters the prac-
tice of the investment of small earnings.
While it is true that in the matter of finan-
cial and business institutions, St. Johns has
been unusually favored, the intellectual, social
and religious life has been and is of a high
order. The city is exceptionally attractive in
appearance and the homes and public build-
ings on its streets are exceptionally well cared
for. A visitor to the city would be attracted
by the splendid church edifices which occupy
prominent positions within the corporate lim-
its.
The St. Johns Episcopal Church, the loca-
tion of which has been referred to, was form-
ally organized as early as 1858. The society
began with a membership of twelve and con-
tinued to exist until the beginning of
the Civil war. At that time the societv
was practically abandoned and held no
services until at the close of the war;
Rev. Thomas B. Dooley being the rector who
engaged himself in the reorganization of the
church. In 1866, after several changes, the
Rev. S. S. Chapin, by the recommendation of
the Rev. George D. Gillespie, now Bishop of
Western Michigan, accepted a call to this par-
ish. Mr. Chapin recently returned to the city
of St. Johns, where he is spending the declining
years of a noble and useful life of service to
his church. The first church building was
erected in 1867, an<^ was destroyed by fire in
1893. ^ was soon rebuilt and the Episcopal
society now occupies one of the finest stone
churches in this section of the state. The
Woman's Guild is a prominent auxiliary of the
church society, as is the Brotherhood of St.
Andrew. Rev. Joseph T. Ewing, who is serv-
ing his seventh year as the rector of this parish,
is a graduate of Allegheny College, Pennsyl-
vania, and of the General Theological Semi-
nary, New York, and his administration of the
society's affairs has been marked by a generous
and broad-minded scholarship.
The first Methodist Episcopal church organ-
ized in St. Johns, dates to the month of Sep-
tember in 1856, when a class of nine members
were united under the leadership of one Ethan
Allen. Church services were held in various
places for ten years, when a building, which is
occupied as the site of Murdock's Granite &
Marble Works, was secured by the society.
The growth of this organization was regular
until 1872, when it was offered a site located in
the rear of the present church lot. Advantage
was taken of this opportunity and the church
structure was erected, which did good service
until 1895, when the present costly and com-
modious edifice was built. The expense of
this structure was approximately twenty-five
thousand dollars. The auditorium of this
church will readily accommodate one thousand
two hundred people. Recently a pipe organ
was installed as a memorial to the late John
Hicks. The church has eight charter members
still living, five of these parties residing in St.
Johns. They are: Mrs. Eliza Hicks, Mrs.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Harriet Brainard (who is for the present in
the state of California), Mrs. Jane Congdon,
Mr. and Mrs, H. B. Bliss. The non-resident
charter members are : Miss Ruby Thayer, of
Sciota, and Mr. and Mrs. William Sickels, of
Sickelsville. In membership this church num-
bers a large number of the influential citizens
of St. Johns and the surrounding townships.
The organization is on a firm basis financially
and is an effective factor in the social and re-
ligious life of the community.
The last church edifice to be erected was
the First Congregational Church at St. Johns.
The Congregational organization dates back to
April i, i860, at a meeting held at the home of
James Ransom. Eight persons were present
at this gathering, and after an organization
was perfected, a call was extended to Rev.
William Esler, of Eagle. At first, this society
held its meetings in an old school-house ; later
in Plumstead's Hall. The village company
tendered a site to the society, which began at
once the raising of funds for the building of
a church home. The Congregational Building
Society contributed five hundred dollars to-
wards the enterprise, and the remainder was
raised by subscriptions. The building contract
in 1863 was awarded to W. W. Brainard, and
two years later the church building was dedi-
cated free from debt. On October 13, 1899,
the corner stone of the present splendid edifice
was laid. Less than two years after this cere-
mony, the new building was formally dedi-
cated. The structure is of stone and the trim-
mings of red pressed brick. The style of archi-
tecture is simple Gothic. The tower, which is
a characteristic feature of the building stands
one hundred nine feet. The interior of the
church is richly finished in oak and southern
pine, the auditorium floor being an inclined
semi-circle. The seating capacity of the audi-
torium is upwards of five hundred and the ad-
joining parlors, which can be connected with
the auditorium, have a seating capacity of at
least two hundred.
The history of this church is indicative of
the remarkable changes which have taken place
in Clinton county. When services were held
in old Clinton Hall in 1862, the room was so
low that a person could reach the ceiling. The
meetings were repeatedly disturbed by cows
running loose on the commons. The cost of
their first church building was three thousand
two hundred dollars, and great effort and sacri-
fice were necessary on the part of its small
membership in order that the necessary funds
were provided. The approximate cost of the
present building is twenty-five thousand dol-
lars. The Congregational society is at pres-
ent in charge of the Rev. James Hyslop, who
came to St. Johns directly from Charlevoix,
Michigan.
The building, as it now stands, completed,
has an auditorium that will seat about five
hundred persons. Immediately back of the
pulpit platform is the choir-loft, which is of
ample space to accommodate the pipe-organ
and fifty singers; while to the right and left
respectively, are the pastor's study and a room
for the use of the choir. At the rear of the
auditorium and separated from it by a rolling
partition, are the apartments for the Sunday-
school. These consist of a main room twenty
by thirty feet in size, and six class rooms, two
of which are designated for ladies' parlors, ex-
tending in a large semi-circle around the entire
east end of the building. These apartments
will accommodate upwards of two hundred
persons.
A prominent feature of these rooms is the
large semi-circular skylight in the center, with
colored ceiling lights underneath. Immediately
above the main Sunday-school room is a room
of the same size for the primary department.
The large leaded glass windows in the north
and south sides of the auditorium are another
prominent feature of the building. They con-
tain no memorial lights, but are an harmonious
blending of emblematic and floral designs. In
the center of the north window is a large cross,
emblematic of Faith ; and in the corresponding
space in the south window, an anchor, emble-
matic of Hope. On either side of the center
are floral designs in calla lilies and torches.
The interior is finished in oak and southern
pine. The auditorium floor is an inclined semi-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF GLINTON COUNTY.
557
circle and the pews are of the same form, made
of oak. The pulpit, built and presented to the
church by H. W. Morris, of St. Johns, is of
selected quarter-sawed oak, and is a most beau-
tiful example of the Ionic order of architecture.
The basement contains a social or dining-
room of the same size as the auditorium,
kitchen and pantry fully equipped with cooking
utensils, dishes, etc., ladies' and gentlemen's
wardrobes, furnace, fuel rooms, etc. The
building is warmed throughout by hot air and
has two ventilating shafts. The artificial light-
ing is by electricity; there being nearly two
hundred lamps installed in the building.
The exterior walls are of selected native
boulders of the most beautiful composition,
revealing, when broken, an history of deepest
interest. The style of work is what is termed
rough or broken ashlar. From grade to floor
line, it is laid in regular courses ; and from the
floor line up, the work is in irregular courses,
sometimes termed hit and miss. The trim-
mings are of red pressed-brick, Ohio and Ionia
sandstone. The corner-stone is of Medina
sandstone from Holly, New York. It was laid
with appropriate ceremonies, October 13, 1899,
in the northeast corner of the tower. Within
it are many articles of interest : A copy of the
Holy Bible, a brief history of the church, copies
of the village papers, lists of officers and mem-
bers of the church and Sunday-school and
Christian Endeavor societies, members of the
building committee, coin bearing date of the
year 1899, a catalogue of Olivet College, and
various other articles. Its north face bears the
corporate name of the church, the year founded
and the year 1899. On the east face is the
beautiful motto, purely Congregational in its
spirit, "One is your Master, even Christ, and
all ye are brethren."
The style of the architecture is Gothic in its
earliest and simple form. The tower is the fea-
ture of the building. It is nineteen feet square
at its base and gradually diminishes in size to
the top of the spire, one hundred and nine feet
above the grade.
The work was commenced in August, 1899,
by F. Banhagel & Son, contractors, and the
wralls carried up a few feet above the main
floor that year; but Mr. Banhagel dying the
winter following, the contract was voided, and
in thef spring the work was resumed by the
building committee, who intrusted its supervi-
sion to an executive committee of three, con-
sisting of P. E. Walsworth, A. S. Fildew and
Albert J. Baldwin.
The cost of the building, complete, is about
as follows :
Mason work $9,000
Carpenter work 9,000
Heating 700
Lighting 600
Seating 900
Structural iron work 800
Glass 1,000
Plumbing, painting and incidentals 1 ,000
Building lots 2,000
$25,000
The interests of public education are well
cared for in the city of St. Johns, and the whole
county enjoys the benefit of the St. Johns pub-
lic schools, which have been and are on a high
plane of efficiency. The tax-payers of this mu-
nicipality have always been generous in the
matter of providing funds and equipment for
educational purposes. The present Central
building was completed in the year 1886 at an
original cost of approximately fifty thousand
dollars. This building has been remodeled
throughout during successive years. The High
School is splendidly equipped with chemical
and physical laboratories, and the general li-
brary is one of the most comprehensive in the
state. The St. Johns High School receives the
patronage of a large number of foreign stu-
dents, principally from various parts of Clinton
county.
An important feature is the Clinton County
Normal Training Class, which has been re-
cently organized, according to the provisions of
the new state law.
Upon the Board of Education are the follow-
ing members: Charles M. Merrill, Henry
Parr, Charles P. Baker, M. F. Washburn and
Will H. Brunson. Besides the Central School
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
building, the city has two ward buildings, one
in the first ward, located in the eastern portion
of the city, and the north ward, which is lo-
cated in the northwestern section thereof.
In the matter of public improvements in gen-
eral, the city of St Johns ranks exceptionally
well. During the last five years, miles of ce-
ment and concrete sidewalks have been built
at an enormous expense, so that at present there
is very little sidewalk building to be done in
the city. For years the city has owned a mu-
nicipal electric light and water plant, and at
an early date installed a complete sewer sys-
tem. Clinton avenue, the principal business
street of the city, and a portion of Walker
street and of Higham street, have been laid
with a modern brick pavement, and it is but a
question of a few years before the streets • in
*he business portions of the city will be paved
throughout. As has been stated, St. Johns is
principally engaged in retail trade, being sur-
rounded by an agricultural community.
Its principal manufacturing establishment
has been, to a recent date, the St. Johns Table
Company, formerly designated as the St. Johns
Manufacturing Company. This institution at
St. Johns was recently abandoned and removed
to the city of Cadillac, in Wexford county,
Michigan, in the heart of the timber country,
and an effort is being made at the present time,
by the co-operation of the city officials and the
Business Men's Association, to procure the oc-
cupation of the Table Company's buildings by
another manufacturing concern, adapted to the
location of the city. On the other hand, the
manufacturing institutions of St. Johns are
represented by gasoline and engine works, a
canning factory, a creamery, a company manu-
facturing hardware supplies, a mattress and
quilt factory, and a carriage and wagon fac-
tory, and other manufacturing concerns of mi-
nor importance, which in the future may de-
velop and become ranking industries.
Before considering St. Johns' business inter-
ests in detail, reference should be made to the
United States post-office at this place, which
is the center of the rural free delivery system
for and throughout Clinton county. The St.
Johns post-office is unique in the matter of
money orders. Out of the sixteen rural free
delivery routes which are supplied from the
post-office at this city, thirteen are officially a
part of the St. Johns office. The number of
money orders, it is said, sold on these routes,
exceeds that of any other office in the United
States, the nearest approach being the office at
Wellington, Maryland, which does not equal
the total amount of sales made through the St.
Johns office, although it has five more rural
routes. During the year ending August i,
1905, orders wTere issued from the St. Johns
office in the sum of $45,010, and the sum of
$37,163 was paid from the office on orders pre-
sented to it.
In an article entitled "Entire County Deliv-
ery/' prepared by Postmaster Will H. B run-
son, of the city of St. Johns, the rural delivery
system in vogue in Clinton county is carefully
described. In reference to the Clinton county
post-office Mr. Brunson says :
"Entire county delivery means that the mail
is delivered at the door of substantially every
farmer in the county. A few on the cross-
roads or in isolated spots still need to go to
the corner from forty rods to a half mile in
order to get their mail, but the number of farm-
ers who do this is very small.
In May, 1900, the writer of this article was
in Washington, D. C, on business connected
with the post-office at St. Johns, Michigan.
While there, he made a visit to Carroll county,
Maryland, and inspected the rural delivery sys-
tem of that county and was so much pleased
with it that he returned immediately to Wash-
ington and made application in person and by
letter to Postmaster General Smith and to Gen-
eral Superintendent Machen for the introduc-
tion of entire county rural free delivery into
Clinton county. This application was after-
wards backed up by a petition of over three
thousands of the residents of the county and a
resolution of the board of supervisors, endors-
ing its application. The newspapers of the
county also heartily supported the plan. More
important still, the State Postmasters' Asso-
ciation of Michigan in 1901 very kindly en-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
559
dorsed his application and in 1902 repeated
the endorsement. Congressman Joseph W.
Fordney, of Saginaw, was our friend at court
in this matter and finally landed the county de-
livery system for us. Meantime a long delay
ensued owing to the immense demands made
upon the rural delivery department, but after
unceasing efforts by many for years, the sys-
tem was finally established in Clinton county
on March 16, 1903. On the same date Ing-
ham county, Michigan, was fitted out with the
same system. On that day thirty-nine rural
carriers began delivering mail to over four
thousand families or about eighteen thousand
people in the farming communities of Clinton
county. Besides these, nine carriers from ad-
joining counties deliver mail to about four hun-
dred and fifty families or about two thousand
people in Clinton county, besides supplying a
large number of families in their own counties.
The thirty-nine carriers in Clinton county trav-
el over one thousand miles a day in delivering
and collecting mail. Of this service the St.
Johns post-office supplies fifteen R. F. D.
routes directly and four indirectly. Nine car-
riers start directly from the St. Johns post-
office, three from a station on the electric road
connecting St. Johns with Lansing, and three
from Wagon "A." These fifteen routes serve
a population of about seven thousand five hun-
dred. Wagon "A" is a traveling post-office
on wheels, called Wagon "A" Rural Delivery
Station. It has a driver who furnishes the
teams, etc., and drives the wagon at a compen-
sation of $1,200 per year, and a carrier, John
C. Hugus, who has charge of the wagon, de-
livers mail from it like any other carrier along
its route and performs the duties of a post-
master in his territory.. He writes money or-
ders, on his own Wagon "A" blanks, registers
letters, take charge of the carriers who start
from Wagon "A," furnishes them with the
supplies of stamped paper, etc. Wagon " A" is
a handsome, well-constructed vehicle, weighing
about one thousand pounds. The running gear
is yellow and the body blue, trimmed in white.
In winter the wagon is supplied with runners
which are easilv fitted under the wheels without
removing them. In five minutes' time the
wagon can be changed to a sleigh and proceed
as if nothing had happened. The driver sits
high up in front and in stormy weather is pro-
tected from the storm by a weather-proof hood
which effectually shuts out the snow and rain.
The carrier stands or sits inside, except when
putting mail in the farmers' boxes or delivering
mail to the carriers or to the post-offices on his
route or collecting mail from them. He has
two post-offices on his route: Maple Rapids,
a town of about seven hundred people, and
Eureka, a town of about three hundred popu-
lation. Carriers Nos. 12, 13 and 14 start from
Wagon "A." Number 14 takes a locked pouch
from Wagon "A" and carries it to Eureka,
where he delivers it about 1 p. m. Wagon "A"
reaches Eureka about 2 130 p. m. and collects
mail from there, which allows business men to
open their mail and answer it the same day.
Wagon "A" carriers a locked pouch to Maple
Rapids at 11 130 a. m., and stops an hour for
dinner at that place, which gives the business
men there an opportunity to answer their mail
at once. Maple Rapids also has a stage route
leaving there for St. Johns in the morning and
returning in the evening, which gives them
two daily mails. It was intended to have the
postmasters of these two villages act as carriers
and deliver the mail in these two places, but
some mistaken protests from these towns pre-
vented this. Such an arrangement would have
been a great improvement to the service in
these two places and many residents already
regret that it was done.
Last year the five rural carriers at the St.
Johns office brought in eleven hundred money
order applications. This shows more rural
delivery money orders issued at the St. Johns
office than at any other city or village in the
United States, with the exception of Westmin-
ster. Maryland, where, I think, there are
twenty-three rural carriers. In that city they
issued about eighteen hundred rural delivery
money orders. Since the inauguration of
county delivery in Clinton county, the fifteen
carriers from St. Johns have been bringing in
monev orders at the rate of over three thou-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
sand a year, and this will doubtless show dur-
ing the next fiscal year that St. Johns has writ-
ten far more rural delivery money orders than
any other city or village in the United States,
The other villages in Clinton county have
rural routes as follows : Ovid, three ; Shepards-
ville, one; Elsie, four; Maple Rapids, one;
Fowler, six; Eagle, three; DeWitt, three, and
Bath, four. The postmasters at these villages
are competent up-to-date postmasters. I know
them all personally and they give general satis-
faction. I also know every rural carrier in the
county and they too help to make the Clinton
county mail service equal to the best.
The St. Johns post-office receives its prin-
cipal mail, including the Detroit morning pa-
pers, at 7:25 a. m. daily. This enables that
office to supply about half the county with
morning Detroit and Grand Rapids papers the
same day they are printed. The R. F. D. car-
riers who start direct from the St. Johns office
leave at 8 a. m. and return about 2 p. m.
Wagon "A" leaves at 8 a. m. and returns about
4:30 p. m., making a distance of eighty-four
miles daily. The three carriers who start from
Wagon "A" receive their mail at 9 a. m. and
start on their trips at about 10 a. m., returning
to the wagon at 3 115 p. m. The three carriers
who start from Merle Beach Crossing on the
electric road, receive their mail at about 9 a.
m. and start on their trips at about 10 a. m.,
returning to the railroad at about 4:30 p. m.
One of these carriers is a woman. She asks
no favors, attends strictly to business and
makes a good carrier.
In the last four years the receipts of the St.
Johns office have increased from $8,000 to
$12,000 per year. The floor space in the office
has been increased from twelve hundred to
twenty-seven hundred feet, and the office has
been well equipped with the necessary furni-
ture for the work. The office is giving first-
class service. This is principally due to the
efficient force and four first-class city carriers.
Rural free delivery is the greatest boon to
the farmers since the homestead law. Rural
communities never received any special benefit
from the postal service until now. While the
resident of the village got his mail several times
a day by going a short distance, and the resi-
dent of the city got his from two to eight times
a day, delivered almost into his hands, the resi-
dent of the country got his mail from one to
three times a week by traveling from two to
ten miles after it. In the inception of rural de-
livery, some people in the villages and cities
seemed to think that the farmer was placed in
their locality expressly to trade at the village
store and that he ought to be compelled to
come to town as often as possible so that he
would trade more. Anything that increases
the farmer's mail facilities, they seemed to
think, would lessen the amount of goods he
purchased at the village store. The ingenious-
ness with which this argument was urged was
the only thing that redeemed its extreme self-
ishness, even if it were true, but it is not true.
The farmer does not eat any less or wear any
less because his mail is brought to him every
day. Besides, the time which he formerly
wasted in going after his mail he now devotes
to raising more and better crops which bring
him more money to spend at the village store.
Rural delivery has come to stay, and woe be
to him who stands in its way. In five years
mail will be delivered at the doors of twenty
millions of people in the rural communities of
the United States, and the post-office depart-
ment will be on a paying basis."
The last census gives the city of St. Johns
a population of three thousand seven hundred
and sixty-eight, which unfortunately has ma-
terially decreased during the past few months,
because of the removal of the St. Johns Table
Company's plant. During the past ten years
the gain in population in the county is approxi-
mately seventy-two, the principal gain being at
the city of St. Johns.
The following tables of comparisons is sub-
mitted as indicating the sectional progress in
the matter of population in the county from
1900 to the last census compiled by the State
of Michigan. It will be noted from this table
that the townships of Lebanon and Riley are
the only two of the county which show a gain
for that period :
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
56i
CITY AND VILLAGES.
St. Johns 3768 goin 3S0
Ovid 1232 loss 61
Elsie 644 gain 68
Maple Rapids 604 gain 25
Fowler 431 gain 5
Westphalia 371 loss 3
Eagle 131 loss 9
TOWNSHIPS.
Bath 1007 loss 58
Bengal 1001 loss 44
Bingham 1055 loss 9
Dallas (including Fowler) 1640 loss 7
DeWitt 1225 loss 5
Duplain (including Elsie) 1954 gain 123
Eagle (including Eagle) 11 58 no ch'nge
Essex (including Maple R'p'ds) . 1473 loss 9
Greenbush 1341 loss 59
Lebanon (including part of Hub-
bardston) 1041 gain 23
Olive 1079 l°ss 43
Ovid (including Ovid) 2S49 l°ss 6
Riley 1 164 gain 9
Victor 938 loss 61
Watertown 1272 loss 62
Westphalia (including Westpha-
lia village) 1543 loss 14
25,208 gain "J2.
Of the business, commercial and financial in-
stitutions located at St. Johns, the banks have
already been referred to. In this connection
it may be stated that the St. Johns National
Bank recently purchased for banking purposes
the Plumstead building and lot, located at the
northeast corner of Clinton avenue and Walker
street, east, and the erection of a modern bank-
ing and office building at this excellent loca-
tion is being considered.
The county of Clinton is especially favored
in the matter of the Independent Telephone
Company, now called the Union Telephone
Company, whose central offices in Clinton
county are at St. Johns. The Union Company
now comprises several counties in central Mich-
igan and has well appointed connection with
all portions of the country. This company
originated from a very minor circumstance.
Several years ago the Crawley Telephone Com-
pany operated a few lines from the village of
Middleton through St. Johns. At this time
John T. Millman and John H. Fildew invested
some capital in the enterprise and the National
Telephone Company was organized. St. Johns
capital became largely interested in this pro-
ject, and the number of exchanges was in-
creased and the lines extended. The Union
Telephone Company of Gratiot county was an
independent, and about six years ago the Union
and the National Companies were merged un-
der the corporate name of the Union Telephone
Company.
This company is capitalized at five hundred
thousand dollars with all of its stock sold. The
central offices are now located at Alma in Gra-
tiot county. It has approximately seventy-
five exchanges. John H. Fildew, of St. Johns,
is the secretary of the company. Tod Kincaid
is president; G. S. Ward, treasurer, and W.
J. Melchers, general manager. Charles Bab-
cock and John T. Millman, of the city of St.
Johns, are two members of the board of direc-
tors. The concern is on a firm financial foot-
ing and has paid twenty-six quarterly divi-
dends of twro per cent.
The manufacturing establishment owned and
operated by the F. C. Mason Company, a cor-
poration, at the city of St. Johns, in Clinton
county, is among the leading industries of its
kind in the state. This company manufactures
a variety of implement repairs, comprising ap-
proximately one thousand different varieties of
cultivator points. They also manufacture fhe
Banner Hand Cultivator. In general, the busi-
ness of this company consists of manufactur-
ing implement supplies of every kind and, in a
sense, jobbing in an immense variety of imple-
ment supplies. Their salesman cover Michi-
gan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, New York,
Texas and Oklahoma, and their field of opera-
tions is constantly increasing.
The business was instituted upwards of
seven years ago by F. C. Mason. About two
years ago a joint stock company was incor-
porated and a brick factory building added to
the plant and the equipment and facilities im-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
proved and the manufacturing capacity in-
creased. The re-organized concern began op-
erations July 20, 1902, with officers as follows :
Charles B. Giffels, president; John T. Millman,
secretary, and F. C. Mason, treasurer.
The concern employs on an average, twenty-
five men. The largest item of their manufac-
tured products is cultivator points, or cultivator
steels, as they are commonly called, of which
over one thousand varieties are made by this
company. Another important line manufac-
tured by this plant is harrow-shoes. Of this
line of implement supplies, this company has
the field exclusively. They also manufacture
a pressed steel stake iron which is a novelty
with this concern, nothing of the kind having
ever been manufactured. Another specialty is
"No. 30" hayfork pulley. This article is a
favorite locally, a large proportion of the local
tracie being supplied by this factory. Among
other sundry articles named in the catalogue
in which this concern advertises its products
are, planters, grinders, seed-sowers, hay-rake
teeth, weeders, tedders, sprocket chains and
attachments, wire springs of all varieties,
spring keys, mower and binder repairs, sec-
tions, knives, oilers, and the "M brand" cold
chisel. In 1903, the Banner Hand Cultivator
was put upon the market, and the trade in this
implement is constantly increasing. F. C.
Mason is in active management of and super-
intends the business and is a mechanical ex-
pert. The stock in this concern is now owned
largely by local capitalists, who anxiously
wratch the progress of the business.
The Clinton Butter Company has been in
existence for upwards of three years. The
concern has as present nearly two hundred pat-
rons. Ten teams are employed continually,
hauling milk from various localities in the
county to the factory at St. Johns. For the
first two years the business paid a dividend of
six per cent on the original investment, besides
increasing the capital stock of the firm one
thousand dollars. The third year with six hun-
dred dollars capital stock added, it paid a divi-
dend of six per cent. The factory is well
equipped with modern separators of high ca-
pacity, and produces upwards of one thousand
pounds of butter per month.
Another prominent industry is the manufac-
turing and machine shop business of Richmond
& Holmes. Louis B. Richmond and H. S.
Holmes comprise the firm, the business being
established in 1889." This concern does a large
business as general machinists, including re-
pairing and machine construction. They also
handle engine trimmings, mill and threshers'
supplies. Heretofore the principal product of
their manufacture has been gasoline engines.
The Ideal gas and gasoline engines, which have
been manufactured at their plant, are the only
product of the kind manufactured in Clinton
county. The Ideal engine possesses many origi-
nal features of construction, and is recognized
as one of the best and most simple and durable
engines of its class manufactured. The engine
is built on the four-cycle plan, is controlled by
an automatic governor, which acts directly on
the exhaust valve; the method of control being
thus most economical. The speed of this en-
gine may be changed while it is in motion ;
the gasoline is automatically pumped to the
engine from a steel tank, all the fuel returning
to the tank when the engine stops, thus con-
forming to the insurance rules and making im-
possible leakage and explosions.
Another product originated by the Rich-
mond & Holmes Company is the Ideal Air-
cooled Automatic Motor, which has proved a
very successful machine. In connection with
their manufacture of engines, the firm also
manufactures house heaters. They carry in
stock a full line of mill and threshers' supplies,
including rubber hose, belting, brass goods;
and they also have on hand appliances for au-
tomobiles, and a line of electrical supplies.
Unfortunately for St. Johns, and probably be-
cause of lack of diligence on the part of St.
Johns capitalists, Lansing automobile compa-
nies have become interested in the gasoline en-
gine manufactured by this St. Johns concern.
Another industry located at St. Johns is the
A. T. Smith Buggy and Wagon factory, which
is managed by Alonzo T. Smith, an expert
blacksmith, horseshoer, mechanic and manu-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
563
facturer. Mr. Smith manufactures wagons
and buggies and also does a large general
blacksmithing and horseshoeing business. It
is probable that in a short time, St. Johns capi-
talists will become interested in this enterprise,
and give it proper support. Added capital
would, without question, give to St. Johns a
large and prosperous wagon and buggy manu-
facturing establishment.
The St. Johns Canning factory is now in
hands of H. B. Kneeland. It is one of the few
industries wich have been established in St.
Johns recently. The factory was built in 1902
by the St. Johns Canning Factory Company,
which was organized, stock being taken by lo-
cal parties. For some reason the company did
not prosper, and in 1904 Mr. Horace B.
Kneeland became the owner of the plant. The
factory is one of the best of its kind in the
state, its equipment being complete and its ca-
pacity being of high order. The plant occu-
pies two buildings on the north side of the De-
troit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railway.
The power is supplied by a thirty-five horse
power engine connected with a seventy horse-
power boiler. The capacity of the plant is
twelve thousand cans daily. The bulk of the
output is canned corn, tomatoes, beans and ap-
ples. The factory, when in operation, employs
thirty hands. The factory product is recognized
as of a high standard and finds ready sale in the
markets of Chicago and Grand Rapids. Mr.
Kneeland is the owner of a large farm on sec-
tion one in Bengal township. He is a native
of Clinton county and is a son of the late Ben-
jamin F. Kneeland. He was one of the orig-
inal promoters of the St. Johns Canning Com-
pany. This concern secures its raw material
under contracts made with the farmers in Clin-
ton county, and the progress and growth of
this industry is simply a question of the ability
of its manufactures to secure sufficient quanti-
ties of products prepared by them for the mar-
kets.
In comparison with those of larger cities,
the industries of St. Johns are on a compara-
tively small scale. Nevertheless, the product
of these industries has always been maintained
at a high standard.
The largest retail dealers in marble and
granite in the county are Murdock & Ruth.
The building occupied by this firm is on the
site of the primitive school house which has
been mentioned. The head of the firm built a
brick building at this site some years ago, and
modern machinery has been installed therein
and first-class workmen employed. The firm
employs from six to fifteen skilled workmen,
and is represented throughout the territory cov-
ered by the business by traveling salesman.
Occasionally a monument order is shipped to
other states. The amount of yearly business is
approximately twenty thousand dollars. Mr.
Murdock has been engaged in this business for
upwards of nineteen years. He is a native of
Washtenaw county. In 1880 he established
marble and granite works at St. Louis, Michi-
gan, removing to St. Johns five years later.
Robert Ruth has but recently become a mem-
ber of the firm. He is a practical workmen and
superintends the outside work of the firm.
Another growing industry along the same
line is that operated by the firm of Walter &
Hodge, who are manufacturers and dealers in
cemetery stone work, cement walks and like
lines. The firm is composed of O. B. Walter
and W. W. Hodge, and has been engaged in
the business nearly six years. The first mem-
ber of the firm came to St. Johns from Flint,
Michigan. The firm of Walter & Hodge has
grown to be a substantial and reliable concern
and their shops put upon the market an excel-
lent grade of granite and marble monuments.
The city of St. Johns and the community
are peculiarly fortunate in being able to patron-
ize a thoroughly equipped steam laundry. The
St. Johns Steam Laundry is one of the best in
the state and is at present owned and operated
by William Woodbury. This laundry has
agencies at different points, such as Maple
Rapids, Eureka and Fowler, and enjoys a sub-
stantial patronage.
As has been stated herein, John H. Corbit
was probably the pioneer hardware merchant
of St. Johns, his business being established in
1856. Mr. Corbit is still engaged in the hard-
ware business, making a specialty of stoves of
which he carries a large stock.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Another of the prominent hardware firms
is that of Fowler & Ball, who occupy the three
story brick block at the southeast corner of the
Walker street and Clinton Avenue crossing.
This firm has a large amount of capital invested
in a complete stock of hardware and builders'
supplies and house furnishings. Another of
the leading mercantile firms engaged in the
hardware business is Spaulding & Co., a corpo-
ration, of which Frank M. Spaulding (son of
the Hon. Oliver L. Spaulding) is manager. Mr.
Spaulding is also connected with the Building
& Loan Association, and with the Clinton But-
ter Company, and has always been prominently
identified with St. Johns business institutions.
The Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Com-
pany of Clinton and Gratiot counties should
also be mentioned in connection with the affairs
of the city of St. Johns. This company was
organized in 1863, and at that time was a very
insignificant affair, compared with its size at
the present time. It is one of the largest com-
panies of its kind in the state and is upon a
firm financial basis. At the present time the
president of this company is Dorr K. Stowell,
the Bengal township pioneer; George N. Ferry,
vice-president; Charles P. Giffels is secretary
and treasurer and has active management of
the affairs of the company. The company is
a mutual one and its membership exceeds six
thousand and it has approximately nine millici:
dollars' worth of property insured.
St. Johns being pre-eminently an agricul-
tural community, special mention should be
given to the firms engaged in buying and ship-
ping grain and produce. Among the grain
merchants and shippers who make a specialty
of carload lots of produce, the firm of Mc-
Knight & Parr is among the first. L. G. Mc-
Knight and John Parr comprise the firm,
which, previous to its re-organization was des-
ignated as L. G. McKnight & Co. The busi-
ness has been established for upwards of nine
years. The senior member of the firm, L. G.
McKnight, came to Clinton county in 1849.
This firm operates an elevator and does a large
business in handling coal at retail and carries
a stock of builders' supplies. This firm has
enjoyed a remarkable increase in its coal and
fuel business during the past two years, and is
counted among the most substantial concerns
of its class in Clinton county.
The elevator business of Charles S. Sprague
was established ten years ago. The Sprague
elevator has a large capacity and its proprietor
has engaged as a general dealer in hay, grain,
beans, wheat, oats, potatoes, apples, straw and
wool. In connection with the elevator, Mr.
Sprague operates a bean-picking establishment
which employs during the season as many as
forty persons.
The Hicks grain and coal business was estab-
lished by the late John Hicks in connection with
his store in 1849. The elevator was built by
him in 1856. The elevator handles a large
amount of grain of all kinds, which is shipped
in carload lots. In connection with the prod-
uce business, John C. Hicks handles a large
quantity of coal, he being sole agent for several
superior varieties of that article.
For several years Mr. James S. Osgood, who
recently retired from active business, conducted
an extensive produce-buying and retail coal and
fuel business at the city of St. Johns. Grain
of all kinds, hay, beans and other products
were handled by him in carload lots. He dis-
posed of his hay warehouse and later his ele-
vator and coal business was sold to the firm of
Stone & Bergin, who now operate the same.
This firm is progressive in its methods, and
upon a firm financial basis, and is a prominent
factor in the produce and coal business of Clin-
ton county.
The city of St. Johns has two flouring mills.
The mill operated by Henderson Brothers is
located on the west limit of the city of St.
Johns, and Wood's mill has already been men-
tioned as being upon the site of the flouring
mill originally erected by R. M. Steel in 1856;
Mr. George Wood having rebuilt the same in
1864. For years this business was owned and
operated by the firm of Wood Brothers,
George Wood being now survivor. This mill
is patronized extensively by the local trade and
ships large quantities of its products to other
points.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
565
Con Stephan's Cigar Factory, which occu-
pies quarters in the Kenyon Block, has grown
to be a St. Johns' industry of considerable im-
portance. Prior to engaging in business at St.
Johns in September, 1903, he had been a cigar
manufacturer at Owosso, Michigan.
Pulfrey & Pouch, a contracting and brick
and cement manufacturing concern, operate
a business important to St. Johns. They
have an unusually large pay-roll. The
partnership was formed in 1893 be-
tween C. F. Pulfrey and Ananias Pouch. The
firm immediately engaged in general contract-
ing, building and artificial stone and cement
work. For upwards of five years they have
operated a brick yard and manufactory, the av-
erage output amounting to approximately one
million bricks annually, of various grades.
Among its other enterprises, this firm recently
engaged in the manufacture of a patent cement
outer case for burial caskets, reinforced by a
frame work of steel rods, making a case that
is both air and water tight. Pulfrey and Pouch
have also built a large proportion of the cement
sidewalks which have been laid in St. Johns
during the past few years of sidewalk reform.
The pay-roll mentioned amounts to upwards
of $15,000.00 annually. Mr. Pouch has fig-
ured prominently in public affairs in St. John?,
having served as village trustee, village presi-
dent and Mayor of St. Johr\s. It was during
his administration that the pavement on Clin-
ton Avenue was laid.
The wholesale grocery house of Olney P.
DeWitt is an important St. Johns enterprise
and of unusual proportions, considering the
size of the city. The proprietor of this busi-
ness possesses the sterling qualities of honesty
and industry and has always ranked as a most
public-spirited member of the business commu-
nity. He came to this vicinity from New
York state in 1864. In x88i he engaged in a
retail grocery business. He began an exclus-
ively wholesale business about two years ago,
but for some time had conducted the two de-
partments of a wholesale and retail grocery
business. During the past three years his gen-
eral trade has increased fully seventy-five per
cent, a growth far in excess of his anticipa-
tions, and this year the indications are that the
volume of business that will be done will be
double what was originally calculated upon.
Traveling men are kept constantly on the road,
and the business of the house covers a field
which includes all of Clinton county and large
portions of the adjacent counties. The line
handled by Mr. DeWitt is similar to that of
any of the wholesale grocery houses of the
large cities, including an especially large line
of cigars, tobacco and all grocery sundries.
It would be impossible to enumerate the
changes in the retail business of St. Johns
within the limits of a work of this kind, and an
enumeration of the retail stores in all that is
necessary. The firm of Travis & Baker, who
own the "Corner Drug Store" is composed of
F. A. Travis and Charles P. Baker. This firm
also does a considerable business in the whole-
sale line with stores in central Michigan. The
present partnership was formed in 189 1. F. A.
Travis is also connected with various enter-
prises in St. Johns and is- one of the liberal and
progressive spirits of the business community.
A. O. Hunt's drug store has been referred to
elsewhere. Fildew & Millman are among the
pioneer business houses of the city. A. S. Fil-
dew, the senior member of that firm, is a na-
tive of Devonshire, England. He was en-
gaged in the contracting and building business
at St. Johns for a number of years prior to the
time when he become associated with W. H.
Wilson in the drug business. Later W. H.
Wilson was succeeded by John H. Fildew,
now of the Union Telephone Company, who in
turn was followed by John T. Millman. Mr.
Millman hails from Guelph, Canada. The store
of this firm is located in the O. W. Munger
Block. C. E. Van Sickle is another St. Johns
druggist, his store being located in the Gibbs
Block on Clinton Avenue.
Of the retail grocery houses of St. Johns,
The Calkins Grocery Company, Ltd., which
occupied the whole floor of the Kenyon Block,
has recently closed out its enormous stock. L.
J. Calkins, the principal proprietor, is a man
of means and business sagacity. Among other
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566
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY,
interests he owns a fine farm of two hundred
forty acres in Bengal township. F. A. Percey
has been in the grocery business for upwards
of fourteen years. He started in St. Johns as
a clerk for Asher Teachout, the pioneer mer-
chant. In later years H. L. Kendrick became
interested in the business and a partnership was
formed between Mr. Kendrick and Mr. Percey,
which continued until 1890 when Percey be-
came sole proprietor of the business. The Base-
ment Grocery, situated in the Plumstead
Building, is now in charge of Smedley and Gil-
lies; Jones & LeBaron enjoy a large trade at
their store in Vauconsant Block. Warner
Bunday has been named as among the surviv-
ing pioneer grocery merchants of the city.
The business of Chapin & Co. was recently
purchased by Chapin & Dubois. Originally
the firm of Chapin & Co. consisted of John B.
Chapin and Charles Chapin. The firm of Cha-
pin & Dubois is composed of Charles Chapin
and Neil Dubois. The firm of Chapin & Co.
was organized in 1890. The present firm car-
ries in stock a general line of groceries and dry-
goods.
John McKinley, who but recently came to
St. Johns from Caseville, Michigan, owns and
manages one of the largest and best equipped
stores in Clinton county. The business is car-
ried on in the Steel Block at the quarters once
occupied by the defunct St. Johns Mercantile
Company. At first, Mr. McKinley was asso-
ciated writh Harry E. Mack, the shoe-merchant,
under the firm name of The McKinley & Mack
Company. This partnership was recently dis-
solved, Mr. Mack's store remaining at its loca-
tion in the Steel Block. The McKinley store
carries a heavy stock of groceries and dry-
goods and is rapidly gaining in patronage.
The grocery firm of Ward & Holton which
occupies the corner store of the O. W. Munger
property, has been in business ten years. Be-
sides their regular grocery line they also have
in stock a well selected line of crockery and
glassware. Louis Sawady is comparatively a
newcomer to the city. His store is located in
the George S. Corbit building on Clinton Ave-
nue. Jesse Bancroft is the youngest of the
St. Johns groceryman. Prior to purchasing
the stock of William Leland, Mr. Bancroft was
in the employ of the Northwestern Insurance
Company as a solicitor, which occupation he
took up after several years of conscientious
service as a teacher in the St. Johns public
schools. The firm of Parr Brothers consists
of Lyman Parr and Henry Parr. The busi-
ness of this firm is well established. Both
members of the firm are prominent in public
affairs, and are counted among the most use-
ful citizens of St. Johns.
The retail furniture trade of St. Johns is un-
usually well cared for. E. I. Hull and Son are
proprietors of one of the largest furniture
stores in central Michigan, their modern three-
story brick block being located at No. 18 Clin-
ton Avenue. This block was erected in 1901.
E. I. Hull, the senior member of the firm, es-
tablished the business in 1894, and the volume
of its business has been constantly on the in-
crease. In connection is an undertaking de-
partment which is splendidly equipped. Os-
good & Osgood are also furniture dealers and
undertakers who have in recent years built up
a large and prosperous business at this point.
The firm consists of Will and Ed Osgood. It
is stated that early in the present year, the lat-
ter member will retire from the business, he
having disposed of his share to Will H. Os-
good, who will continue in the business. The
latter is a prominent member of the Methodist
church at St. Johns, being instrumental in or-
ganizing the annual Clinton county Sunday-
school excursions, when thousands of Sunday-
school children are carried to Detroit and
neighboring points on trips of sight-seeing and
pleasure.
St. Johns has three merchant-tailoring es-
tablishments, of which that of George H. Judd
is the pioneer. The proprietor has been in
business for twenty-seven years and may be
counted among the pioneers of Clinton county.
A. S. Berry has been in business at St. Johns
for over two years, he having prior to his re-
moval to this place, been in business at the vil-
lage of Ovid. Fred R. Jackson came to St.
Johns from London, Canada, and has been a
tailor at this place for seventeen years.
Of carriage, harness and implement dealers,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
S67
St. Johns has its share. The business now in
charge of Davies & Sowle is among the best
established. This firm consists of R. C. Davies
and Charles Sowle. The former is a native
of England and has lived in Clinton county
since i860. Frank A. Hyatt, builder and
owner of the Hyatt block, is engaged in the
carriage and harness business and is among the
most substantial dealers on Clinton Avenue.
Besides being an extensive dealer in agricul-
tural implements, wagons, carriages and horse
furnishings, Byron Danley is also a heavy ship-
per of produce. He is a native of Gratiot
county, and was for eight years associated with
John Hicks in the grain business. The pres-
ent business was established in 1898. Mr.
Danley is prominent in public affairs and has
served upon the Common Council for four
years.
The Spring Brook Ice Company is composed
of Ernest B. Pardee and George H. Schoen-
hals. Upwards of three years ago they suc-
ceeded H. A. Sage in the cold storage and ice
business and now control the business in that
line at St. Johns. This firm is progressive and
now owns important rights at Alward Lake
from which in the future the city's supply of
ice may be obtained.
At present St. Johns has three jewelry mer-
chants. C. S. Allison purchased the business
now under the proprietorship of his son R. G.
Allison, in 1880. Eugene Parker, who was in
business at Durand and Detroit, established
himself at St. Johns one year ago. William M.
DeWitt was born in DeWitt village in 1867.
He attended the St. Johns public schools, and
after mastering the jeweler's trade, lived suc-
cessively at Hammond, Ind., and Chicago, 111.,
finally returning to St. Johns and establishing
a business for himself.
Among other business enterprises should be
named the establishments of Wilson Brothers,
Clark & Hulse, and Steel and Field, clothiers.
Harry Mack, Noble Burnett, Charles Hulse
and Abner Furtney and Tromp & Post, are
St. Johns shoe merchants. Durkee & Butler's,
Petch & Boucher's and Huntley's millinery
stores are all that could be asked for in an up-
36
to-date, prosperous little city. Gonderman's
general store has taken new quarters in the new
Merrill block recently erected on Clinton A ve-
nue.
It is not the province of this history to in-
vade the biographical department, and personal
references have been made for the purpose of
indicating the general progress of the county,
and its present historical features. As it stands
to-day the city of St. Johns has a population
of approximately 3,500 persons. At the pres-
ent time there is considerable agitation toward
the procurement of manufacturing industries
for this locality. The city government of St.
Johns recently took steps toward the purchase,
by the municipality, of the buildings and prop-
erty of the departed St. Johns Table Company
for the sum of $15,000. The object held in
view was certainly proper enough, but the
ownership by a municipality of any private en-
terprise being contrary to the Constitution of
the state, interested taxpayers intervened, by
means of an injunction proceeding, and at the
present date strong effort is being made
through the agency of the St. Johns Business
Mens' Association towards the raising by pri-
vate subscription a sum sufficient to purchase
the property.
As has been stated before the great necessity
for St. Johns is a north and south railroad, to-
gether with manufacturing industries. The
future as regards the latter, is particularly
promising at the present time, and should the
efforts being made by the community terminate
successfully, it is but a question of a few
months before the city's population will be ap-
proximately 5,000. If concerted action might
be taken towards inducing the Lake Shore and
Michigan Southern Railroad, whose terminus
is at Lansing, to extend its line northward
through St. Johns, without a doubt the latter
city would soon become a manufacturing cen-
ter.
St. Johns is particularly fortunate in having
a strong aggressive public press. The Clinton
Republican, C. C. Vaughan editor and proprie-
tor, has a large circulation throughout Clinton
and adjoining counties. As its name indicates
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
it is a party organ. The home of the Clinton Re-
publican is a modern brick building, and the
office is equipped with every modern appliance
and facility. The proprietor is a St. Johns
capitalist who possesses a broad public spirit,
and who is interested in numerous St. Johns
enterprises. The Republican was, previous to
Mr. Vaughan's administration, owned and
edited by Otis Fuller, prominent in state affairs
and now warden of the State Reformatory at
Ionia.
The St. Johns News is at present edited by
Stuart H. Perry, formerly of Pontiac, Michi-
gan. Howard H. Fitzgerald was instrumental
in founding this paper, he being at present edi-
tor and proprietor of a daily paper at Flint,
Michigan. The News essays to be independ-
ent politically, and has a circulation of approxi-
mately 4,000. The News is especially strong
as an advertising medium.
The Clinton Independent was the pioneer
newspaper of St. Johns, being owned and ed-
ited by George S. Corbitt, who is connected
with the early history of the community, as has
been referred to. The Independent was the
organ of the Democratic party in Clinton
county. Its publication was suspended re-
cently because of the proprietor's desire to de-
sist from active business during the remainder
of his allotted time.
A GENERAL SURVEY.
In general the county of Clinton has fallen
off in population since the period marked by
the years 1878 and 1880, when the county
reached approximately the 29,000 mark. This
fact taken by itself might be construed as in-
consistent with the claim of general progress
and prosperity, but this situation can be ex-
plained. The fact is that gradually the real
estate holdings by individual farmers throug-
out the county have increased. One by one the
smaller farms are purchased and made a part
of other large estates. The average sized farm
in the county at the present date is much larger
than that of twenty years ago. Modern agri-
cultural appliances also find a large market in
Clinton county. Self binders, hay loaders and
kindred agricultural machines are found upon
every well appointed farm. The effect of these
facts is to reduce the rural population. On the
other hand it is probably true that Clinton
county farms taken acre for acre are more pro-
ductive to-day than they have ever been before.
The land is cleared of all obstructions and
drained to a considerable extent, and the work
of cultivating it is carried on with greater fa-
cility and more profitable results. Clinton
county farms now supply many tons of sugar
beets to the Lansing and Owosso factories.
As to the civil history of the county a list
of those who have served in county offices has
not been prepared as the biographies edited in
connection with this narrative will disclose the
facts in that connection.
THE CLINTON COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY.
Dr. G. E. Corbin, one of the pioneer mem-
bers of this association, furnished to the St.
Johns News in October, 1901, data regarding
the early history of this association. To the
list of Clinton physicians given in this connec-
tion the names of Dr. Hugh Smith, Dr. Alton
Jeffries, Dr. Walter Scott, Dr. W. Hodskin
Gale and Dr. John B. Dodge should be added.
The first four of these gentlemen are recent
acquisitions to the physicians at St. Johns. Dr.
Smith succeeds to the practice of Dr. Henry
Palmer, while Dr. Scott is a member of the
firm of Gillam & Scott. The history of the
Clinton County Medical Association as given
by Dr. Corbin is substantially as follows:
"Pursuant to the call for the purpose, issued
by the writer hereof, at the office of Dr. G. E.
Corbin in the village of St. Johns, on March
1st, 1864, preliminary work in the organization
of a medical society in Clinton county was
done.
At the meeting were present: Dr. J. W.
Sweetland, of Elsie, Dr. W. D. Scott, of
Bridgeville, Dr. C S. King, of Ovid, Dr. L. W.
Fasquelle, of St. Johns, and Dr. G. E. Corbin,
of St. Johns.
Three months later with three additional
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY,
569
physicians present, viz : Drs. Chadwick and
Dellenbaugh, of Westphalia, and Dr. Stewart,
of St. Johns, the organization was completed
with the eight physicians above named as mem-
bers. For several years, with occasional
spasms of activity, the society had a precarious
existence.
At that early date I think it was the pioneer
county medical society, for a large section of
our state in this region, there being no other
medical society in any adjoining or nearby
county.
Then a seventeen mile ride from Westphalia
for Dr. Dellenbaugh, or a fourteen mile ride
for Dr. Topping, from DeWitt and return,
made laborious trips, but they had the ambi-
tion to be unexpectedly prompt in attendance.
Finally the original organization slumbered
for several years, and was thoroughly re-organ-
ized in 1874 by the nine physicians whose
names are here appended, viz : C. C. Dellen-
baugh, Westphalia; L. A. Laurason, Fowler;
S. M. Post, Eureka; Davis Hollister, Maple
Rapids ; Casper V. Beebe, Ovid ; Edwin Doty,
Maple Rapids; L. T. Wells, Ovid; L. W. Fas-
quelle, St. Johns ; G. E. Corbin, St. Johns ;
since which time the society has been, for the
most part, commendably active; the decade
from 1874 to 1884, marking its greatest and
most rapid growth. However, in 1884 the fol-
lowing names had been regularly enrolled,
though the actual membership had been re-
duced by several deaths at that early date.
C. C. Dellenbaugh, Westphalia ; L. A. Laur-
ason, Fowler; S. M. Post, Eureka; Davis Hol-
lister, Maple Rapids; Casper V. Beebe, Ovid;
Edwin Doty, Maple Rapids; L. T. Wells,
Ovid; G. E. Corbin, St. Johns; L. W. Fas-
quelle, St. Johns; G. W. Topping, DeWitt;
S. C. King, Ovid; L. O. Ludium, Shepards
ville; S. E. Gillam, Elsie; D. C. Stewart, St.
Johns ; E. V. Chase, Elsie ; Samuel H. Well-
ings, Bridgeville; Simon Herres, Westphalia;
Andrew J. Wiggins, St. Johns; H. Hart, Eu-
reka; O. B. Campbell, Ovid; N. B. Weeper,
St. Johns; J. T. Abbott, Ovid; W. R. Yuill,
Ovid; H. A. Manzer, Wacousta; J. H. Travis,
Elsie; A. S. Hvatt, Wacousta; J. H. Merrill,
Ovid; C. W. Pengra, Ovid; Jabez Perkins,
Owosso; C. McCormick, Owosso; L. W,
Goodrich, Corunna; S. Chapin, Corunna; E. B
Ward, Laingsburg; D. W. C. Wade, Holley
C. P. Parkill, Owosso; D. C. Holley, Vernon
A. M. Hume, Bennington ; M. Weller, Fowler
I. T. Hollister, Laingsburg; W. A. Reed, Ma-
ple Rapids. The above names are given ex-
actly in the order in which they signed the con-
stitution of the society — the first in July, 1874,
and the last in January, 1884.
Now for good and sufficient reasons, the
membership of the Clinton County Medical
Society is restricted to graduates of reputable
medical colleges. In its early existence, all phy-
sicians honorably engaged in a reputable med-
ical practice, whether graduates of any medi-
cal school or not, were accepted as members.
The best interests of patients to the extent of
life or death even, demanded that the attending
physicians should meet in candid and harmo-
nious consultations.
This necessity removed the barriers to con-
genial social intercourse in the county society.
More than that, members were so few that
members were solicited and received from ad-
joining counties, as the above given plainly
shows.
From Dr. I. T. Hollister I learned that for
several years after his advent into Clinton
county, in the township of Victor, in the year
1846, the only other physicians in the county
were Drs. Marvin and Stowell, of DeWitt, and
Dr. Watson, of Duplain.
The first "annual banquet/' a feast of delic-
ious viands and the sparkling conversation of
fair women, was held at the Walker Street
House on July 8th, 1880, by the invitation and
at the individual expense of four resident mem-
bers, and was pronounced a "grand success. "
The second "annual banquet" was at the in-
vitation and individual expense of Dr. G. W.
Topping, and was held at his spacious resi-
dence in the village of DeWitt, on July 14th,
t88t. The day wras fine and the occasion one
of great joy. It took ten years to develop the
next — the third "annual banquet," which was
held at the Steel on May 7th, 1891, whereas
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57o
PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
it only required nine years to develop the fourth
"annual banquet" which was held at the Steel
on October 4th, 1900. The fifth "annual ban-
quet" is advertised to occur on schedule time
at the Steel on October 3d,* 1901.
The obituary list of the members once active
in this society is now large. Those known to
be dead are L. A. Laurason, Fowler; S. C.
King, Ovid; C V. Beebe, Ovid; L. T. Wells,
Ovid ; C. W. Pengra, Ovid ; N. B. Weeper, St.
Johns; A. J. Wiggins, St. Johns; L. W. Fas-
quelle, St. Johns; G. W. Topping, DeWitt;
Simon Herres, Westphalia; E. B. Ward,
Laingsburg; I. T. Hollister, Laingsburg; J. W.
Sweetland, Elsie; L. W. Goodrich, Corunna.
Tis not likely that the above is a complete
list of the deceased members, A number have
removed to parts unknown to the writer hereof.
With the exception of the above obituary list,
all names, dates and other facts given in the
above history are taken from actual records
now in my possession, as I acted as the secre-
tary of the organization for more than half of
the years of its existence. It would be well for
the present secretary of the Clinton County
Medical Society to preserve this history in the
archives of the society.
The following is a list of the present mem-
bers of the society, some of whom were born
since the society was organized :
S. E. Gillam, St. Johns; F. V. Dunn, St.
Tohns; H. D. Squair, St. Johns; M. Weller,
St. Johns; S. M. Post, St. Johns; H. Palmer,
St. Johns; J. V. Dooling, St. Johns; C. E.
Knapp, St. Johns; G. E. Corbin, St. Johns;
J. W. Pollard, St. Johns; O. B. Campbell,
Ovid; J. T. Abbott, Ovid; A. O. Hart, Maple
Rapids; R. D. Sleight, Maple Rapids; S. J.
Wilson, Wacousta; J. F. Hinkson, Wacousta;
F. H. Ellis, DeWitt; E. Hart, Eureka; j. H.
Travis, Elsie; J. McGillicuddy, Shepardsville ;
E. Schemer, Fowler; H. H. Bryant, Duplain;
R. C. Buck, Mayville; J. Schoenith, Westpha-
lia. All of which is most respectfully submit-
ted."
THE CLINTON COUNTY BAR.
Reference to the pioneer history of the
county and to the biographical department of
this history cannot fail to impress the idea of
the prominence of the members of the Clinton
county bar in county affairs. Although for un-
fortunate reasons the Clinton county bar is not
organized into a bar association, it is neverthe-
less true that Clinton county has one of the
strongest bars in the state of Michigan. Busi-
ness activity, the presence of considerable capi-
tal and the large population have for many
years supplied a large business to the courts of
the county. There has been considerable liti-
gation growing out of the R. M. Steel failures,
and consequently Clinton county lawyers are
exceptionally well prepared in corporation law.
At the present time the law business in Clinton
county seems to be on the increase. The cal-
endar of the December term of 1905 shows
seventy-two cases docketed and ready for trial.
The members of the Clinton county bar at
the present time are as follows:
MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
A. J. Baldwin, St. Johns; J. Earle Brown,
St. Johns; S. B. Daboll, St. Johns; Fred R.
Everett, Ovid; Paul Jamison, St. Johns; Edwin
H. Lyon, St. Johns; Charles M. Merrill, St.
Johns; Edward J. Moinet, St. Johns; G. F.
Ottmar, Riley; John G. Patterson, Fowler;
Oliver L. Spaulding, St. Johns; Lewis Sever-
ance, St. Johns ; Byron V. Soule, Ovid ; H. E.
Walbridge, St. Johns; Joe M. Hoxie, St.
Johns ; Will H. Brunson, St. Johns ; William
H. Castle, St. Johns; John C. Dooling, St.
Johns ; J. C. Flynn, St. Johns ; Dean W. Kelley,
St. Johns; Willard C. Lyon, St. Johns; George
H. Marshall, St. Johns; William A. Norton,
St. Johns ; Henry J. Patterson, St. Johns ; Stu-
art H. Perry, St. Johns; William M. Smith,
St. Johns; Almond G. Shepard, Ovid; Charles
Snelling, Elsie ; E. L. Walbridge, St. Johns.
LAW FIRMS.
Baldwin & Walsworth, St. Johns; Lyon &
Moinet, St. Johns; Norton & Jamison, St.
Johns ; Dooling & Kelley, St. Johns.
Politically, Clinton county is in the Repub-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
571
lican column, although the line is so evenly di-
vided between the two great parties that the
results of an election are by no means assured,
especially when a local issue is at stake. At
the present time the county of Clinton has a
representative at the capitol at Lansing, Wil-
liam H. Rose, of Bath township, being elected
Commissioner of the State Land Office at the
last state election. Mr. Rose served as super-
visor of the township of Bath when he was
twenty-eight years of age. In 1881 he was
elected to the state Legislature and in 1883
was re-elected. In 189 1 he served as county
treasurer. He is largely interested in real es-
tate and is a practical farmer, owning and man-
aging a farm of five hundred fifteen acres in
Bath township.
The following table (being report of the
County Board of Supervisors as to equaliza-
tion, adopted at the October session) when
compared with the facts previously given, indi-
cates the material progress of the county to the
present date, showing that the aggregate val-
uation of assessable property in Clinton county
is upwards of twenty millions of dollars, and
that there are over three hundred sixty thou-
sand acres of land in the county subject to tax-
ation.
TOWNSHIPS
Bath
Bengal
Bingham ....
Dallas
DeWitt
Duplain
Essex
Eagle
Greenbush . . .
Lebanon
Olive
Ovid
Riley
Victor
Water tow 11 . . .
Westphalia . . .
St. Johns, 1st
ward
St. Johns, 2d
ward
St. Johns, 3d
ward
Acres in
Town-
ships
22,222
23,212
20,848
22,960
22,868
22,312
22,459
22,227
22,397
22,268
22,900
22,799
22,918
22,746
22,673
22,724
Real as as-
sessed in
townships
717750
1,105,540
1,045,600
1,177,090
I,022,6l0
I,I22,OlO
986,200
926,810
871,450
804,560
886,670
1,344,250
932,190
724,610
1. 133780
1,134,760
566,370
350,700
621,910
Real in
farm as
equalized
628,930
980,220
996,990
946,510
902,840
828,210
830,300
848,980
857,950
768,590
822,220
949,180
871,110
709,280
972,310
926,400
Real in vil-
lage and
cities as
equalized
$ 43,060 $
120,670
6o,000
210,700
150,800
30,320
35,000
405,290
30,320
I2I,IIO
Personal as
assessed
78,010
298,780
II3,OIO
327,820
157,160
261,090
211,900
100,700
127,050
81,410
177,780
317,530
155390
120,720
127,370
322,490
Aggregate
as equalized
$ 750,000
1,279,000
I,IIO,000
1,395,000
1,120,000
1,300,000
1,193,000
980,000
1,020,000
850,000
1,000,000
1,672,000
1,027,000
830,000
1,130,000
1,370,000
518,510 181,490 700,000
341,580 95,420 437,000
590,360 262,640
853,000
Totals 360,533 $17,890,160 $13,810,020 $2,657,720 $3,518,260 $20,016,000
At the present time the civil list of Clinton
county is as follows :
Judge of Probate, Charles M. Merrill.
Sheriff, John W. Keeney.
Under-Sheriff, Isaac Cressman.
County Clerk, Clark A. Putt.
County Treasurer, Adin W. Skinner.
Register of Deeds, Robert S. Armour.
Prosecuting Attorney, William M. Smith.
Circuit Court Commissioners, George H.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Marshall and Fred R. Everett.
County Drain Commissioner, Monroe
Whitmore.
County Surveyor, James F. demons.
Coroner, David L. Eagle.
County School Commissioner, Theodore H.
Townsend,
County School Inspectors, Emerson J. Led-
dick and B, A. Burns.
Superintendents of Poor, Frank M. Spauld-
ing, Fred A. Travis and John A. Watson.
Keeper of Poor Farm, Edward Lester.
- The Board of Supervisors consists of the
following members :
Robert McConkey, Bath.
Oral W. Granger, Bengal.
Joseph M. Cramer, Bingham.
John P. Ulrich, Dallas.
Mark Pennell, DeWitt.
Milo VanDeusen, Duplain.
William L. Tallman, Eagle.
William C. Sickles, Essex.
Edgar Burk, Greenbush.
Jacob E. Ludwick, Lebanon.
Lewis F. Green, Olive.
Fred B. Carpenter, Ovid.
James H. Burns, Riley.
James D. Sleight, Victor.
Fred C. Oppenlander, Watertown.
William Smith, Westphalia.
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INDEX
BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS
A
Abbott, Dr. John T 86
Aekmoody, Benjamin D 110
Ainslie, Frederick W 284
Andrus, Charles T 160
Arens, Joseph 133
Armour, Robert S 339
Avery, C. L 284
Avery T. C 300
B
Babeoek, Marvin 78
Baldwin, Levi W 25
Banta, Dr. P. H 26
Barnard, W. S 39
Barrett, Samuel 268
Bates, L. G 141
Beck, John A 166
Beckett, John T 65
Bedaine, Maurice 162
Beebee, William F 434
Beech, John 349
Bengel, Theodore 177
Bond, Samuel 227
Brass, Rev. N. L 407
Brazee, Homer 95
Briggs, George B 429
Brunson, Will H 135
Burk, Edgar 31
Burt, R. B 320
C
Campbell, Dr. O. B 72
Carpenter, Fred B 176
Carter, James R 342
Carter, Levi D 397
Case, W. V 414
Casterline, O. D 291
Casterline, W. B 165
Castle, William H 204
Chaplin, William 270
Chase, E. V 15
Clark, David 240
Clark, Edward S 338
Clise, E. A 261
Cobb, E. W 43
Cook, Seth M 139
Corbit, J. H 117
Cox, T. H 146
Craven, J. E 175
Crell, C. F 324
Cunningham, Oliver 413
Curtis, L. W 390
Cushman, Samuel 19
D
Daboll, Sherman B 40
Daggett, William J 323
Davis, J. C 329
Dexter, A. B 375
Dexter, R. C 48
Dietrich, Charles S 312
Dills, O. B 256
Dills, William 294
Dills, Winfield S 206
Dobson, Edwin 308
Dodge, George H 365
Dodge, Dr. J. B 283
Dooling, John C 175
Doty, George R 64
Douglas, F. L 193
Dowding, William 392
Downie, L. B 221
Dunn, Dr. F. C 255
Dutcher, Otis J 245
E
Eaton, Charles H 435
Eddy, Charles 318
Eddy, Darius T 380
Eddy, T. H 398
Emmons, George W 96
Everett, F. R 123
F
Farnill, W. H 298
Faxon, G. B 306
Fish, James H 433
Fitzgerald, J. W 22
Fizzell, John 199
Fizzell, William 181
Fletcher, George W 358
Forward, C. E 383
Foster, Samuel 292
Fox, George W 287
French, David S 205
Fuller, Dr. R. T 313
G
Gale, Dr. W. Hodskin , ... 393
Gallup, A. E ,.., 438
Gay, E. W 101
Gibbs, Giles J 314
Gillarn, Dr. S. E 50
Gillison, William 230
Gilson, Lewis F 437
Green, Charles H 357
Green, Thomas H 332
Gunnison, James H 56
H
Hamilton, W. E 215
Harris, Abram 106
Harris, Capt. A. S. . . . . ., 66
Hengesbach, T. N 71
Henry, James 305
Herbison, Robert 76
Hess, Joseph 269
Hewitt, Isaac 168
Hicks, John 20
Hill, M. M 337
Hiner, John" 1 356
Hinkson, Dr. J. E 125
Hinman, Joseph 186
Holmes, H. J 414
Holmes, W. H 422
Houghton, James 48
Howard, John W 427
Howe, Jeremiah B. 153
Howell, H. E 194
Hutchins, E. M 256
Hyslop, Robert 140
I
Ives, William 366
J
Jones, H. F 384
Jones, Lafayette 299
K
Keeney, John W 346
Kelley, Dean W 44
Kelly* John 69
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Kemp, William 280
Killam, A. A 382
Kilmer, George M 307
King, Willard 270
Kniffin, M. A 359
Kosht, J. M 212
Kraus, H. P 299
Krom, William A 84
Kyes, B. A 237
Lacy, H. C 124
Lacy, W. H 77
Ladd, William P 409
Lance, Alfred D 401
Landers, Robert .... 427
Lee, A. C 297
Leonard, Dr. E. S 428
Lester, Edward R 368
Letts, Abner 250
Link, John 130
Litchfield, E. A 363
Lott, Eugene 423
Lowe, R. C 126
Lowell, O. W 246
Mc
McConkey, Robert 430
McFarren, Clarence 85
McFarren, Nelson 151
McGillicuddy, Dr. James 259
McKibbin, John 391
McKnight, Lewis G 317
McLouth, Willis 55
M
Malony, John 429
Manley, Charles H 112
Melvin, J. L 364
Messer, M. M 405
Moinet, E. J 75
Montague, James 147
Moon, Sylvester 350
Moots, R. H 211
Morrison, A. W 200
Moss, William J 209
Mundell, James 394
N
Nicholson, L. L 249
Norton, W. A 367
O
Oding, John C 411
Oppenlander, Fred C 33
Page, Jackson 182
Palmer, Dr. Henry 219
Parker, Edwin 187
Parker, Epson 274
Parker, Newell 267
Partlow, Levi P 93
Payne, George W 109
Pearce, Varney 222
Pease, L. H 340
Peck, W. W 134
Pennell, Galusha 16
Pennell, Mark 178
Perkins, Daniel 136
Perrin, H. M 10
Perrin, Porter K 7
Perry, Stuart H 412
Piggott, F. M 216
Pingel, John 437
Pope, Charles W 331
Post, Dr. S. M 159
Potter, H. A 28
Potter, Warren & Eri 325
Potter, William F 260
Pouch, Ananias 401
Pray, Gurdin E 406
Pruden, Jay 399
Putt, Clark A 54
R
Read, John 347
Reed, E. A 374
Richards, Rev. J. E 34
Robson, Ray 311
Roby, A. W 375
Roby, J. D 382
Rose, S. W 376
Rumbaugh, A. C 210
Rummell, Henry 105
S
Schavey, William 330
Sexton, Charles 360
Sexton, Job W 172
Sexton, Zephaniah 234
Shepard, A. G 102
Sherman, Cyrus 262
Sherman. C. A 425
Shraft, J. F 47
Sibley, Levi W 288
Sickles, J. D 167
Simmons, G. R 106
Skinner, A. W 32
Skinner, John F 319
Sleight, J. D.... 152
Sleight, Millard P 220
Smith, Alfred R 229
Smith, Archie 341
Smith, Eli A 196
Smith, F. B, 53
Smith, William M 239
Smith, William W 426
Snelling, W. H 410
Spaulding, Frank M 228
Sprague, Benton 27
Squair, Dr. H. D 279
Starkweather, W. S 244
Steel, Robert M; 60
Stichler, D. L 233
Swain, Frank C 391
Swaney, H. N 49
Swarthout, T. L 118
Sypher, German 419
T
Taft, M. L 154
Tallman, W. L 37
Taylor, Benjamin 436
Terry, Joseph 373
Thompson, Wilber 355
Tucker, Samuel 326
U
Underwood, A. L 432
Upton, Frank W 420
Upton, Josiah 421
V
Van Deusen, M. R 402
Vangieson, John 431
Van Sickle, A. L 90
Vaughan, C. C 408
Vredenburg, F. M 348
W
Wagner, Lewis D Ill
Walbridge, Edward L 99
Walbridge, Henry 115
Walbridge, H. E 89
Walter, O. B 293
Ward, H. F 254
Warner, Dr. J. A 408
Warren, Charles L 371
Warren, J. J 148
Watson, Homer 381
Webb, N. L 162
Webster, Alonzo 195
Webster, Mervin 185
Weller, Dr. Martin 424
Whitlock, W. J 59
Williams, C. S 142
Williams. Norman 253
Woodbury, W. H 389
Y
Young, B. F 188
Youry, John W 364
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CLINTON COUNTY. 575
HISTORICAL CLINTON COUNTY
Preface , 441 Other Internal Improvements. . 459 Civil History of Clinton County 520
Geographical Features 442 Michigan Railroad Schemes... 459 County and Circuit Courts of
csnrfnnp nnri <*™i " " " " am D-> G- H- & M- Railway 460 Clinton's Judiciary 522
^uriace ana toon 44d Qther Railroad Enterprises .... 463 Probate Court 524
Barriers Removed 444 Lansing and Suburban Electric Probate Records Show Progress 525
Westward Movement 445 Railway 466 County Organization 526
Evidence of Pre-Indian Occupa- Growth of the Settlements 467 Formation of Townships 530
tion 445 Pioneer Life and Progress 470 Public Affairs of the County. . . 531
Indian Traditions 446 Early Villages of Clinton County Buildings 533
Indian Traders Arrive 448 County 493 County Farm 536
Indians and Settlers 448 Conditions and Customs of the City of St. Johns 538
Governor Lewis Cass Succeeds. 449 Pioneer Settlements 511 General Survey 568
Indian Trails and Early Roads 455 Incidents of Life in the Settle- Clinton County Medical Society 568
Michigan Plans Highways 457 ments 519 Clinton County Bar 570
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